Connections
by Deanne Stevenson
Summary: A Penelope Garcia/Derek Morgan Story
1. Chapter 1

Looking into the mirror, Penelope Garcia brushed her long, blond hair. She pulled part of it back, securing it with a bow that matched the ruby brocade top of her gown. Her shimmering tresses were her best feature, and she knew it. From the time she was a little girl, she'd been complimented on her glorious, golden curls. Of course, the compliments were often tarnished with the backhanded remark that she "would be so pretty if she'd only lose weight." Comments about her weight used to bruise her feelings, but her mother would reassure her. "Honey, you're beautiful just as you are. Besides, it's just baby fat. You'll outgrow it."

She skillfully applied her makeup and sprayed herself lightly with Mystic Night perfume. Her dress and the pricey scent had cost her a week's salary, but it would be worth it if it captured his attention. She stepped back and took a hard look at herself. The color in her gown enhanced her fair skin and blond hair, and the long, black taffeta skirt made her bulky figure look slightly thinner. She sighed. "Well, Mom, you were wrong about the baby fat," she said aloud, but she was not altogether displeased by what she saw.

Penelope had long ago given up the quest to be slim. Over the years, she had exercised, dieted, fasted, and even suffered short bout of anorexia, only to quickly gain back any pounds she had lost. She had learned to accept herself. Penelope Garcia, smart, successful, computer wiz, personable, loyal friend, passably pretty…and fat!

She took her favorite pair of long, hoop earrings from her jewelry box and clipped them on. She was just putting on some colorful bangle bracelets when her doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock on her dresser. As usual, he was exactly on time.

Penelope opened the door and greeted Kevin Lynch. He stood, smiling his familiar lopsided grin, dressed in his rented tuxedo. His hair was slicked down and he was clean shaven, but even at his most well-groomed, he had a way of looking slightly unkempt. "Hi, Kevy," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. She straightened his collar and adjusted his tie.

"You look beautiful," he said, sincerely, and he pulled her close to him for a longer kiss.

Kevin Lynch was in love with Penelope Garcia. Over the years, he had only been with a handful of women, and before Penelope, never had a serious relationship. He was shy, and he knew he was nerdy, but he didn't know how to be any different. Now in his mid-thirties, he resigned himself to being alone and focused on his work with the FBI. He had earned the respect of his supervisors and was regarded as one of the top technical analysts with the Bureau. He understood computers, more than he ever understood women, he would often muse to himself. When he met Penelope, it was like a dream coming true. He couldn't believe that a woman so alluring could be interested in him. They had been dating for over a year, and he was saving to buy her an engagement ring, which he planned to give to her on her birthday.

Lynch considered himself the luckiest guy on earth.

xxxxx

Derek Morgan pulled his silver SUV up to the entrance of the Washington Ritz-Carlton and quickly got out of the car. He handed his keys to the parking valet and looked at his watch. "Shit," he muttered, softly. He was fifteen minutes late. If he was profiling himself, he would have to admit to his own passive-aggressive behavior. He knew he didn't rush into getting ready for tonight's event. Hell, he'd hoped all week that he would think of a reason to get out of going. He had pretty much decided to play sick this evening, pick up a pizza and stay home to watch the Wizards and Bulls game, until Section Chief Erin Strauss stopped him on his way into his office this morning.

"You'll be at Director Muller's retirement dinner, won't you, Agent Morgan?"

Caught off guard, he hesitated. "I, uh….."

"Everyone who is important to your career will be there." She leaned in closer to him and rested her hand on his arm. "They're watching you, Derek. You need to make a good impression on the right people."

"Yes, I'm going," he said, resigned.

"Good. See you there."

Erin was a tall, attractive blond, in her late forties. She had an icy personality, and was generally forbidding to anyone who came into contact with her. As an administrator, she was highly respected, but "what a ball-breaker," Morgan thought, as he watched her walk away. He always pitied the poor guy who married her, until he found out she had recently been divorced. It was out of character for her to be friendly enough to call him by his first name. For whatever the reason, Strauss seemed to like him, although he couldn't fathom why. When he was Acting Unit Chief, he appeased her even less than Hotch did. Nonetheless, she seemed genuinely interested in seeing him advance at the Bureau. He'd even heard through the grapevine that it was Strauss who recommended him for the head job at the New York Field Office.

Derek was conflicted about his ambitions with the FBI. While he hated playing the political games that were necessary to progress in the Bureau, he enjoyed the leadership role, so as much as he disliked these affairs, he decided it was in his best interest to put on his tux and show up.

When he entered the banquet room, he was relieved to see that things were just getting started. He immediately spotted the table where his BAU teammates were sitting. Prentiss caught his eye and motioned to the seat between her and Spencer Reid.

He was surprised to see that Reid had a date. "Go on, Reid," he thought, amused. He didn't know the young woman's name, but she was a perky blond who'd just graduated from the New Agent Training Program. Morgan recognized her from the self-defense classes he taught.

Aaron Hotchner was with Jessica, his late wife's sister, an attractive redhead who looks remarkably like Haley. Hotch looked happier and more relaxed than he had seen him for awhile. He wondered if there was there more to their relationship than convenience.

J.J. and Will greeted him cheerfully. Since little Henry was born, nights out were rare for them, and they, too, genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Living up to his reputation as a womanizer, Dave Rossi was with an agent from Counterterrorism, a gorgeous brunette less than half his age. Morgan knew her slightly. Her name was Angela, and she seemed mesmerized by the senior profiler. "Looks like Dave is going to get lucky," he thought wryly, as he sat down beside Emily. Rossi caught him checking out his date and winked. He knew exactly what Derek was thinking.

Emily Prentiss wore a sleek, black gown, cut low to emphasize her voluptuous breasts. Her hair was up and she wore an expensive diamond heart necklace with matching earrings. He wondered if her jewelry had been a gift. "You look beautiful, Em," he said, feeling a little guilty. He knew she hadn't come with a date because she'd been expecting him to ask her.

He gave the waiter his order for a vodka and cranberry juice, and said a polite "hello" to Penelope and Lynch, who were seated directly across from him. Garcia looked stunning. Derek would have told her so, if Lynch hadn't been hanging all over her, which annoyed him more than it should have.

Three drinks in, Morgan started to unwind and actually began to enjoy himself. After dinner, Erin Strauss came to his table. "There are some people I want to introduce you to," she said, taking him by the arm and leading him into a cluster of people standing near the lectern. He was introduced to Director Muller and his wife, and the Director's replacement, H. Donovan Gray, who had recently been appointed by the President. He and Strauss were talking with DC Mayor Finlay and his wife, when the DJ announced "a song for all of the romantics here," and Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do" began playing.

"You'll have to excuse us," Mayor Finlay said, taking his wife's hand to escort her out to the dance floor.

"Well, it looks like this our dance, Agent Morgan." Strauss smiled at him, coquettishly.

xxxxx

As they drove south on the D.C. Beltway, Kevin reached down to caress Penelope's thigh. "Keep both hands on the wheel," she told him, trying to sound stern, but giggled in spite of herself.

He grinned, impishly. "I can't wait until we get home." He took her hand and placed it on the bulge in his pants. "We're having a sleepover tonight, right?"

"Watch the road, Kev," but she laughed again and rubbed him, just a little, before she removed her hand. He squirmed in his seat.

"Babe, any more of that and we're going to pull over right here."

"Behave!" She thought she'd better change the subject. Even late at night there was traffic on the Beltway, and he needed to pay attention to his driving. "It was a pretty nice party, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. Bureau dropped a bundle on that little bash."

"I liked the DJ."

"I wish he'd played more slow stuff. I like dancing up close to my girl." He paused for a moment and took her hand. "You know, Pen, you were the prettiest girl there."

Garcia thought about all of the elegant women who were at tonight's event. Many wore chic, designer gowns. Nearly all of them were slim. She couldn't help but feel a little envious. No, she wasn't the prettiest girl there, but she knew that Kevin Lynch really believed that she was.

"Thank you," she said, quietly, and she squeezed his hand.

xxxxx

Derek emptied his pockets and placed the contents on his nightstand: wallet, keys, cell phone and two phone numbers that women had slipped him during the party. He slid off his watch, noticing that it was after three. He unstrapped his ankle holster and put his gun in the drawer. He quickly undressed and climbed into bed, grateful that he didn't have to get up in the morning. He was slightly buzzed and genuinely tired, but had too much on his mind to sleep.

As far as connecting with the "right" people, it had been a good night. To his surprise, Director Muller was familiar with his history with the Bureau, and complimented him on doing such "a fine job" when he stepped into the BAU's leadership role. If he was unsure of Strauss' interest in him, it became crystal clear when she began to press her body against him as they danced. An exceptionally handsome man, Morgan was used to women making overtures to him, but with Strauss, he never saw it coming.

He reached for his remote and clicked on the television. He was annoyed to find that the Wizards had lost and clicked it off again.

Maybe Strauss just had too much to drink? Perhaps his ego was reading too much into it? After all, she's almost fifteen years his senior. It troubled him to think that she had an ulterior motive for taking an interest in his career. If he advanced at the FBI, he wanted it to be on merit, not because he was fucking the boss. And, if he ignored her, would she try to sabotage his career, just as she had Aaron Hotchner's.

He thought about calling Garcia. Talking with her always helped him to sort things out. She should still be awake. She and Lynch left at the same time he did. He started to reach for his phone. Lynch! The damn reason why he couldn't call her! He and Penelope hadn't been close lately, not since Kevin Lynch came into her life. Morgan wasn't a man who would encroach on another man's territory. But damn, he missed her.

When he finally fell asleep, it was after four o'clock.

xxxxx

Kevin and Penelope lay snuggled together, enjoying the sweet moments after their love-making. "I love you, Pen," he whispered to her softly, just before he drifted off to sleep.

"Love you, too." Her response was automatic and she hoped that she sounded sincere. Sounded sincere? Of course, it was sincere! "I do love Kevin," she thought. "He's kind, funny, and we have just everything in common. A girl could do a lot worse than Kevin Lynch." Over the years, Penelope had suffered more than her share of hurt and rejection. She knew that Kevin had, too. He confided everything to her. He trusted her. She would never hurt him, and he would he never know how often images of Derek Morgan invaded her mind, even during their most intimate moments.

Lynch snored softly beside her, but she was wide awake. Her thoughts drifted back to the party. She loved seeing the lighter side to her co-workers; a tipsy Reid doing The Shag with his date, and Hotch laughing for the first time in months. She could sense that something was troubling, Morgan, however. He seemed fine until after dinner, until after he spent some time with Section Chief Strauss. "Well, that witch could bring anybody down. Hope she isn't causing Morgan as much grief as she's always caused Hotch" she thought, concerned for Derek.

She was jealous when she recalled how Morgan danced mostly with Emily. She wondered if their relationship was closer than she knew, but when the DJ began to play "Endless Love," Derek walked over to Penelope.

"Baby Girl?" Her pulse quickened, as he extended his hand to her. He hadn't called her that in so long. "Do you mind, Kevin?"

Lynch smiled, awkwardly. "No," he said, and sat down at their table. He tried to appear impassive while he sat sipping his drink, but he was intently watching his girl dance with Morgan.

For five extraordinary minutes, Penelope was in Derek Morgan's arms. Could he feel how hard her heart was pounding? "You look really nice, Pen. That perfume you're wearing must be driving Kevin wild."

"Oh Derek," she thought, wildly. "Don't you know it is all for you? My dress, the perfume, the time I spent on my hair and makeup, was all for you." Being so close to him made her feel complete in a way that no other man had ever made her feel. If only she could tell what was in her heart, but she knew couldn't. She couldn't bear to be rejected.

When their dance was over, Derek walked her back to the table. Kevin looked relieved when he went back out on the dance floor with Prentiss. He didn't care much for Morgan. For some reason, the guy rubbed him the wrong way.

Penelope replayed her moments with Morgan over in her mind until she finally fell asleep, just as the sun was beginning to rise. With her body pressed close to Kevin, she dreamed of Derek Morgan.


	2. Chapter 2

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 2

Morgan made his last entry to the file on the child abduction case they just finished and closed it up. He was glad to put this one behind him. It didn't end well, as evidenced by the somber mood on the plane and the total lack of conversation. What could be said about four dead kids?

Seeing the horrific things that could happen to children, made his teammates want to hold their own a little tighter, Morgan noticed. As soon as she boarded the plane, J.J. called home to talk to her toddler. He knew Hotch was watching the time and would be calling his son, Jack, as soon as Jessica picked him up from nursery school.

Since she became a parent, J.J. was more affected by these cases and Derek was concerned for her. Even Emily, who had always been the one on the team who could compartmentalize, had tears in her eyes when they discovered Danny McGregor's body. They had so hoped that they would find him in time.

After Morgan cuffed the suspect, he had to walk him past the boy's corpse, down a long wooded driveway to the police van. Rage welled in him when he saw the man smirk as he passed the dead child. "What I wouldn't give for five minutes alone with you, motherfucker," he thought, angrily, as he roughly shoved the man into the van. It took all of his self-restraint to turn and walk away.

"What's wrong, Cupcake?" Garcia asked him when he called in to tell her they were on the way back to Quantico.

"We didn't get there in time," he told her, quietly. "The McGregor kid was already dead."

Her heart ached for the parents and for Derek when she heard the anguish in his voice. "I'm sorry." It seemed like a lame response, but she didn't know what else to say. "I know you did all you could."

"My God, Pen, if only we'd gotten there half an hour earlier." He sighed, wearily. "The worst was telling his parents. The McGregor's are an older couple. They didn't think they were going to be able to have children. It was a miracle when they had Danny." He paused again. "He was their only child."

"Oh, those poor people!" And poor Derek, she thought, empathically. She knew these cases unsettled him more than he'd admit and she was glad he was opening up to her.

"They wanted to see his body. Prentiss and I had a hard time talking them out of it. How do you convince a mother and father that they can't see their child one last time? But goddamn Pen, we had to. We couldn't let them see what that psycho scumbag did to their boy." Derek continued, grateful to have her to listen. "They'll never get over this. How the hell could they?"

"Do they have any other family?"

"Mrs. McGregor has a sister in Connecticut. She's on her way out here. I hope…" Derek stopped when he heard another voice through the phone. "Is someone there with you?"

"Kevin. He just got here. We're having lunch in my office." Lynch had come up behind her, slipped his arms around her and was nibbling her neck and ear. "Kevin, stop," she said, curtly.

Morgan's demeanor turned cold. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I didn't realize you were busy. We'll be getting in about four…Later."

"Derek, wait." She shook Kevin off. "Are you coming back to the office?"

"No. I'm going straight home."

"Section Chief Strauss was looking for you. She wanted me to give you a message."

He sounded annoyed. "What?"

"She wanted to see you as soon as you get back. She says she needs to talk to you."

"Whatever. Tell her I'll stop by her office in the morning."

"Okay, I'll let her know," she said, but Morgan had already hung up.

Derek put the completed file in his briefcase and placed it on the seat beside him. Strauss? What the hell could she want? He had put her behavior at the retirement party behind him. It was just the alcohol, he'd reasoned, and he'd been too busy to think about her again. As soon as he got into the office on Monday, J.J. briefed them on the Denver case. The unsub kept his victims for a week before killing them, and he'd already had Danny McGregor for three days. Less than an hour later they were en route to Colorado.

He glanced around the plane. Prentiss stared silently out of the window. It didn't take a profiler to know what she was thinking. Hotch was finishing his report. Morgan knew he would stay awake until he spoke to his boy. The rest of his teammates were asleep. They had barely slept in the past few days and exhaustion exacerbated their melancholy.

Morgan put his headphones on, lay his head back, and fell asleep with the Isley Brothers playing softly in his ear.

xxxxx

"Why are you being so nasty?" Lynch asked Penelope, stung by her behavior.

"Kevin, I was busy. That was a work call."

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I was just so happy to see you."

He looked so wounded, Garcia felt like she'd just kicked a puppy. "I didn't mean to snap at you," she apologized, and gave him a peck on the cheek. "What did you bring us for lunch?"

Grinning happily, he began taking things out of the bag that he brought with him: crab salad, whole wheat crackers, gruyere cheese, a small bottle of chardonnay, plastic stemmed glasses and silverware, and her favorite dessert, iced chocolate brownies. It was touching, how hard he'd tried to please her. He had even brought a small candle he placed on her desk and lighted. He locked her office door and turned down the lights.

For the next fifty-five minutes, Penelope and Kevin talked, joked, and sipped wine as they ate their lunch, but as hard as she tried, Penelope couldn't stop thinking of Morgan.

.


	3. Chapter 3

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 3

Erin Strauss had just finished touching up her makeup and was putting her compact in the desk drawer when Morgan came to her door. It was open, but he knocked politely on the frame to get her attention. "Ma'am?"

"Come in, Agent Morgan," she said, in her perpetually cavalier tone of voice. "Close the door." She gestured to a seat in front of her desk. "Please, sit down."

She studied him discreetly and, although her expression never changed, she observed with pleasure that he'd grown his beard since she had last seen him and was sporting a neatly trimmed goatee. He was dressed in black slacks and a royal blue shirt, a color that, she thought, enhanced his good looks.

"I've just finished speaking with the Denver Chief of Police. He had nothing but praise for your team."

"With all due respect, Ma'am, it is Aaron Hotchner's team, and the case didn't go as well as we'd hoped."

"Yes, I heard. Very sad, but at least you arrested the man responsible."

"At least," he repeated, sourly, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I'm sorry, Agent Strauss, I don't mean to be rude but I have to be at a briefing in a few minutes. What is it you needed to see me about?"

"Business," she stated, matter-of-factly. "There are some positions opening in the Bureau that I think may be of interest to you. The Bureau is expanding International Operations. Counterintelligence is expanding. There will be some exciting opportunities abroad and here at home. The heads of both the Atlanta and Chicago Field Offices will be retiring this year." She studied him for his reaction. "I don't know what your career aspirations are, Agent Morgan, but if you wish to advance…"

"To be honest with you, Ma'am," he interrupted, "I'm not sure that I have any 'aspirations' beyond Behavioral Analysis." The Denver case had drained him mentally and emotionally. He was just damned glad it was Friday and he wasn't in the mood to think about anything more than how he was going to spend his weekend.

"You mean you would be satisfied chasing serial killers for the rest of your life?"

Derek smiled, slightly. "You're asking me on the wrong day."

It was no secret that Erin Strauss had her eye on the FBI Directorship. Buzz was that it was her ambition that caused the breakup of her marriage, and while she was respected for her competence, she had a reputation for being ruthless. So, Morgan had to ask the question. "With all due respect, Ma'am, why would you concern yourself with my career?"

"I have my own career goals, Agent Morgan, and if I discover talent, bring that talent to the attention of my superiors, it reflects well on me. I think you have a bright future with the Bureau, and your success contributes to mine." She paused. "Well, are you open to the possibilities?"

"I may be."

"Good." She got up from her desk with something in her hand. Standing beside him, she leaned down to show him a gold embossed invitation. "Director Gray is having a reception next week to get acquainted with Bureau management. I would like you to attend as my guest. It would be another opportunity for you to make connections. Besides, someone should be there to represent the BAU."

Morgan read through the invitation addressed to Section Chief Erin Strauss and Guest. "The Four Seasons on the 27th. That's next Saturday, right?" He questioned.

"Yes, and rumor has it the President and First Lady will be making an appearance. He and Director Gray were friends back at Harvard and he'd like to welcome him into the fold, so to speak."

He handed the invitation back to her. "Shouldn't you ask Hotch, or Rossi? They're the senior profilers."

She brushed against him gently as she stood up. "Agent Rossi has no interest in advancement," she told him, again taking her place behind the desk. "And Agent Hotchner has already declined to attend. Besides, his competence has been called into question on several occasions. He's fortunate to still have the position he has." She put the invitation away and leaned back in her chair. "So?"

Morgan thought about it for a moment. "I'll need to get my tux pressed."

xxxxx

The morning of the 27th started like most Saturday mornings for Penelope. Clad in tattered sweatpants, fuzzy pink slippers, and an old tee-shirt, she turned on her stereo. Singing along with the music, she started a load of wash and began cleaning her condo. She worked with a little extra gusto today. Kevin was throwing a surprise party at her place tonight. Of course, she wasn't supposed to know about it, but she'd overheard him on the phone making plans two weeks ago. She hadn't had a birthday party since her sweet sixteen and was delighted by the prospect.

She figured that Kevin would invite her BAU teammates, the two neighbors in the building she was friendly with, and Gloria Greene, who worked with her at the counseling center. And Derek would be coming. She smiled to herself when she thought of it. He hadn't been to her home since he stayed with her after the shooting, and she wanted everything to look perfect.

Lynch was not at all good at keeping a secret. Every time she saw him in the past week, he was wearing that silly, crooked grin of his. When she would ask him what he was smiling about, he would look sheepish and say "nothing," only to go back to grinning.

J.J. was supposed to pick her up at 3 o'clock. They were planning a trip to the mall and taking Little Henry to the Children's Play Place. She figured J.J. was the one who had been charged with keeping her busy while Kevin set things up for her celebration.

When she'd finished her chores, she took a long bubble bath. She did her nails, including a pedicure. "After all, a girl shouldn't look shabby at her surprise party," she thought, happily. She spent extra time on her hair and makeup, and even practiced her "surprised" look in the mirror as she dressed.

J.J. pulled into the driveway right on time. Penelope sprayed herself with a touch of Mystic Night perfume, and headed out the door.

xxxxx

Sitting at the foot of her bed, Garcia starred at the ring Kevin had slipped on her finger earlier tonight. It sparkled in the soft illumination of her bedside lamp, and she couldn't help but love the beauty of it. It was a large heart-shaped diamond, accented by six small diamonds on both sides. She estimated that he must have spent five or six thousand dollars. Now she understood why he had been talking so much about saving money of late. He planned dates that were economical, like luncheons in her office, or movie nights at home.

She had just finished opening the presents on the gift table when Kevin walked up with something behind his back.

"One more," he teased. "Close your eyes," and he slipped the ring on her finger. She gasped when she saw it, and tears began streaming down her cheeks. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry again," he said, looking wounded. He was referring to the moment when she walked in with J.J. and the baby, and fourteen friends jumped out of the shadows.

"Surprise!" She quickly scanned the faces in the room. Everyone was there that she expected him to invite, except for Derek Morgan. Tears of disappointment ran down her face, just as they did when she received her ring.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she lied. "I'm just so overwhelmed," and she hugged him. "It's beautiful."

The party was a huge success. Prentiss and Reid had helped Kevin decorate and set up the food. Rossi brought the cake from an Italian bakery near his home. It was their special chocolate mousse cake, Penelope's favorite. For awhile, everyone was a kid again. Reid entertained them with magic tricks. They played Twister and Charades, and even watched some of Garcia's home movies from her childhood in Florida. It was late when the party finally broke up, and Kevin and she said goodbye to their guests.

"Congratulations on your engagement," nearly everyone said as they left, and she did her best to smile.

As Kevin slept peacefully in the bed beside her, Penelope started crying again. How could Derek have missed her party?


	4. Chapter 4

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 4

On the morning after the reception, Morgan awoke sick and disoriented. The sunlight coming through the parted curtains hurt his eyes, as he looked around, trying to identify where he was. He was in a large bed, not his own, in a room decorated in rich cobalt and gold tones. His tuxedo was laid neatly across the overstuffed chair in a corner of the room, and he realized he was naked. He didn't remember getting undressed, and had no idea how he got to this room. Was this a hotel? It must be; he recalled Strauss telling him she had reserved rooms for them.

"I have a room at the hotel for tonight," she told him when she telephoned him on the morning of the affair, "and one for you. It will probably be a late night. You'll want to bring a change of clothes for tomorrow. The limo will pick you up at 7:00."

"Limo?" He questioned. "Why can't I drive?"

"This is hardly the kind of event you drive yourself to, Agent Morgan. We'll be sharing the car with Section Chief Wilson and his wife. Besides, he's someone you should get better acquainted with."

It was starting to grate on him, Erin's consistently condescending tone of voice, but he had never heard her speak any other way to anyone, so he tried to shrug it off. He did, however, feel another wave of sympathy for her ex-husband, and for a moment he thought of backing out. This was getting way too complicated, and he wasn't sure that making "connections" was something he really wanted to do. But, he enjoyed the idea of meeting the President, so he only said "I'll be ready."

He looked around for a clock in the room. The clock radio on the nightstand read 8:40. Good, he wouldn't have to checkout for awhile. Maybe if he could sleep a little longer he would feel better. He wished he had some aspirin or something, anything that he could take to ease the pounding in his head. Why the hell did he feel so rotten? He couldn't be hung-over. He'd only had two glasses of wine. He would never be so irresponsible that he would get drunk at an affair filled with FBI hierarchy.

He closed his eyes and tried to piece together what happened the night before. The President and First Lady did appear at the event for awhile, and he gave a short speech welcoming Director Gray to Washington. He remembered talking to Gray, who told him he was hoping to get the funds to add another team of profilers, and he commended Morgan on the fine work his unit does. During the evening, Strauss introduced him to many people, some of whom he had met the week before, and several people knew him as the heroic agent who drove a ticking time bomb into Central Park last year.

At the dinner, he and Strauss were seated at table with the head of the Los Angeles Division and his wife, and the Chairman of the WMD Commission and his spouse. Although Derek felt somewhat awkward being coupled with Erin Strauss, her behavior was impeccable. She properly introduced him as "SSA Derek Morgan of our Behavioral Analysis Unit, who was kind enough to accompany me tonight." Twice during dinner, she called him by his first name, but otherwise kept the conversation on a professional level.

Going over the evening in his mind made his headache worse, and he still couldn't grasp how he got to this room or why he couldn't remember…remember what? "Okay, Derek," he asked himself, "what is the last thing you do remember?" He recalled sitting at the table with Strauss, talking with the guy from the LA office. The party was breaking up, and he finished the glass of wine he had been nursing. He remembered feeling light-headed, and he excused himself from the table to step outside for some fresh air. After that, everything was a blank.

He was suddenly nauseated, and quickly had to find his way to the bathroom. When he recovered, he went back to bed with a cold cloth for his forehead. With the coolness against his face, he gratefully fell back to sleep.

It was three hours later when ringing phone beside on the nightstand awakened him from a sound sleep. Damn, he didn't want to answer it. "Yeah," he said, gruffly.

"Good morning, Agent Morgan. Are you ready to leave? Check out is in twenty minutes," Strauss told him.

"I can't leave. I'm sick."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What's wrong?"

He felt too miserable to make explanations. "Look, do me a favor. Tell them at the front desk that I'll need the room for another day."

"How will you get home?"

"I don't know. I'll call someone, or I'll rent a car. Don't worry about it." He couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice. He only wanted to get off the phone and escape into sleep.

"Of course, I'll take care of it. You know, I'm not surprised that you're feeling ill. You were very intoxicated last night."

An alarm went off in his aching brain. What the hell is she saying? No, I wasn't drunk, not even a little bit. I had two glasses of wine. If he'd felt well he might have argued the point. She started to say something else, and he cut her off. "Thanks," he said, and hung up. He rolled over and went back to sleep.

xxxxx

It was just after seven that evening when Dave Rossi pulled up at the Four Seasons in his black Jeep Pathfinder. Morgan hung his tux in the back and got in. "Damn, you look like shit," Rossi told his younger friend. "What the hell?"

"Looked worse this morning," Derek replied. The lights in the city were just starting to come on. Ordinarily, he loved DC at night, the Capitol, the Monuments. When illuminated, Washington was one of the most beautiful places in the world. Tonight, he couldn't appreciate it. He felt lousy and just wanted to get home.

"You gonna tell me about it?"

"I went to the reception for Director Gray last night."

"Yeah?"

"Dave, this is going to sound crazy. I think I was drugged."

"At a gathering of FBI?" He laughed, but when he glanced at Morgan he saw that he was serious.

Morgan told him his story. "When Strauss called my room this morning she said she wasn't surprised I was hung-over. She told me I was drunk last night. Dave, I couldn't have been. There's no fucking way."

Rossi became quiet. After a moment, "I'm taking you to the ER for a blood test."


	5. Chapter 5

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 5

Morgan was quiet for much of the fifty minute drive from D.C. to Stafford, the small Virginia town near Quantico where he lived. Concerned, Rossi finally asked him. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "I've just been trying to reason this all out." Frustration was evident in his voice.

"Well, like the doctor said, some substances can pass through your system pretty quickly. Just because the tox report was clean, it doesn't mean you weren't drugged." It didn't make sense to Rossi, either, that someone would dare to slip an illegal substance to an FBI agent and at a Bureau event, no less. "Who do you think could have done it? Strauss?"

"I was sitting with Strauss. Except for the waiter or the bartender, she was the only one with the opportunity. Dave, they brought glasses of red or white wine around on a tray. You could take any glass, so the bartender or waiter couldn't target anyone in particular. If it was intended specifically for me, it had to have been Erin."

Rossi had known Erin Strauss for over twenty years. Although he didn't like to admit it, he knew her back when she was Erin Malone. They were a hot item for a minute, but they didn't part on good terms and there was no love lost between them now. Erin didn't like men she couldn't control. He offended her strict, by-the-book management style with what she considered his rogue behavior. While he didn't care for the woman, it was hard to imagine that she would commit a criminal act. But, he trusted Morgan and something certainly happened to him. "What would be her motive?" He questioned.

"She said I was 'very intoxicated.' Was I still functioning and I don't remember? How did I get up to the room or get undressed? She's been saying she wants to see me move up in the Bureau. That's why she asked me to this event, to meet what she calls 'the right people.' Suppose, instead, she wanted to see me discredit myself in front of the brass by being drunk. Maybe she sees me as competition, like she does Hotch?" Morgan hesitated to say it. "Or there's the other alternative."

Rossi smirked. "That she drugged you to have sex with you? Hell, I don't think Erin Strauss has sex, well, not unless she can devour her mate afterward." Both men laughed at the premise. On the other hand, Rossi did know another side of Erin and what was hidden behind her cool exterior. "Shame you didn't just go to Garcia's party with the rest of us. You would have avoided a lot of trouble."

"Party?"

"Garcia's surprise birthday slash engagement party last night. That tech guy she's been dating threw it. He slipped a pretty big rock on her finger. It must have cost him a bundle. Well hell, you got an invitation."

"Penelope's engaged?" The news stung like a slap in the face. "No, I didn't get an invitation."

"Sure you did. You must have. Everyone asked where you were. The invitations came the week we were in Denver. Mine was in my mail when I got home."

Morgan thought of the mail piling up on his kitchen table. He'd glanced at it, but never noticed an invitation. "If I got one, I never saw it," and suddenly, he felt terribly guilty. What must Penelope think of him?

Rossi pulled into Morgan's driveway and put the car in park. "Are you going to try and do anything about what happened?"

"How can I without evidence?" He got out of the car and retrieved his tux from the back. "Do you want to come in for a beer?"

"I'll take a rain check. I've got some paperwork I need to finish tonight. We may be flying out to LA tomorrow if we get the request to work that serial arson case. I need to get caught up. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Dave."

Once inside the door, Derek laid his suit over the back of a kitchen chair and sat down to sort through his mail. Near to the bottom of the stack was a small pink envelope. Opening it, he read. "You're invited to a party."

xxxxx

Penelope dried the supper dishes and put them in the cabinet. She'd heated some meatballs and gravy left over from the party and made spaghetti. Kevin had suggested having dinner at The French Bistro down town, but she wasn't up for going out. She hadn't slept much last night, and she was having a hard time shaking the melancholy she'd felt ever since Lynch slipped the ring on her finger.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Kevin called from the living room.

"Nope, almost done. I'll be in soon." She replied, with feigned cheerfulness.

Garcia didn't mind doing the clean up alone, and actually relished moments away from Kevin. It had become his habit on most Friday nights to come after work and to stay all weekend, but tonight she felt like he was suffocating her. She needed some time alone to sort things out; so many thoughts were racing through her mind. Yes, she loved Kevin; there was no doubt about that, but could she commit to him for the rest of her life? Occasionally, she would look at her ring. It was so beautiful, and yet, it made her so uncomfortable wearing it.

Her mind drifted back to the retirement party, and she savored the memory of Morgan's arms around her while they danced. She recalled the night he brought her home from the hospital. That was the night he told her he loved her. Although, she was badly scarred and still in pain, it was the best moment of her life. When the man who'd shot her tried to break in, she was safe because he was there to protect her. Yes, she did love Kevin, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't make her feel what she felt for Morgan.

She tied up the trash, and then poured cups of coffee for her and Kevin. "Here, Sweetie," she said, when she handed him his cup. She was still thinking of Derek as she sat down to watch "Cold Case" with her fiancé. Troubling her, too, was the nagging feeling that something wasn't right with Morgan. She could always sense it when something was amiss with him. Several times today she thought of calling him, but stopped herself. He doesn't want to hear from me, she reasoned. We've grown so far apart; he didn't even come to my party.

The phone rang, and she started to get up to answer. "Sit still, Babe. I'll get it," Kevin told her. "You just sat down."

"Hello," he answered, and quickly heard a click on the other end of the line.

xxxxx

Morgan swallowed a couple of aspirin with some juice to shake the remnants of his headache. Since Rossi suggested they could be heading out for LA tomorrow, he checked his go bag. He took a couple of shirts out of the bag and added them to his mounting pile of laundry. He packed some fresh shirts and underwear. He took his dress shirt from the hanger and hung his tux in the closet. It looked like he could wear the suit again before he had it cleaned, but the shirt would need to be laundered. He made a mental note to drop his laundry off at Wet and Dry Cleaners on his way into work in the morning.

Derek was concerned with what he was going to say to Penelope. He hoped that she would know he would never intentionally slight her, but he was anxious to call to apologize. He was so focused with what he was going to say that he never noticed the crimson lipstick smears on his dress shirt when he added it to the stack of clothes.

He changed into pajama bottoms and stretched out on his bed. It was a few minutes after ten when he dialed Garcia's number. Perhaps they would be able to talk tonight the way they did before she got involved with Lynch. He missed their talks. Penelope always had a way of helping him to find sanity in the midst of craziness. Maybe she could help him make sense of what happened with Agent Strauss.

The phone rang three times before Lynch said "hello." Disheartened, Derek promptly hung up. He turned off his light, and clicked on the television. Maybe they could talk tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

**CONNECTIONS**

**Chapter 6**

**Since he'd slept much of the day before, Morgan was awake very early on Monday. He had time to hit the gym, drop off his laundry, stop at a local coffee shop, and still pull into the parking garage at Headquarters twenty minutes early. He got out of his SUV with his cup and took a long drink, happy to be drinking good coffee instead of the lousy office brew. Emily Prentiss parked in the slot next to him.**

"**Wow," she said, grinning at him, as she reached for her bag from the back of her car.**

"**Don't even say it, Princess," he replied, grinning back. He knew she was going to tease him about being early. Morgan had a reputation for lateness. To be early, especially on a Monday when traffic tended to be the worst, was an anomaly that she had to comment on. Exchanging the usual "how was your weekend" small talk, they walked into the BAU office together.**

**Morgan put his briefcase on the desk and took out the file on the arson case they were reviewing today. He quickly checked his voice mail, and then headed out the door to see Garcia. Erin Strauss intercepted him in the hall. **

"**Feeling better, Agent," she inquired, in her usual chilly monotone.**

"**Fine," he replied, briskly, anxious to get away. **

"**I need to speak with you in my office," she told him. Her hand rested on his arm as if to restrain him. **

"**Ma'am, it will have to wait. I have a number of things to attend to right now." Before she could reply, he was gone.**

**xxxxx**

**Garcia was seated at her desk, checking emails and eating a doughnut when Morgan came into her office. "I am so ready for coffee," she said, as she swiveled halfway around in her chair, expecting to see Kevin carrying a couple of cups. "Oh….." She jumped slightly, startled to see that it was Derek. **

"**Busy?"**

"**Uh, no," she said, self-consciously, as she wiped the crumbs from around her mouth. "I'm not on the company clock for another few minutes."**

"**Penelope, I wanted to apologize to you." He sat down in the chair beside her. "I never saw the invitation to your birthday party. It was buried in a stack of mail. I went to a Bureau affair in the city on Saturday with Chief Strauss. A lot of important people were attending and…" He stopped, seeing the wounded look on Garcia's face. He took a deep breath and continued. "…and none of that matters." His tone became very gentle. "Baby Girl, if I had known about your party, I would have been there."**

**He took her hand and held it as he continued. "You know, Prentiss read me the riot act when we were walking in today for me not going. I wondered why she never mentioned it beforehand. She said everyone was trying so hard to keep it a surprise that they weren't talking about it. You're a hard person to fool, you know." Penelope smiled, since she'd known about the party two weeks ahead. "This office is like a little Genoa City. Everybody knows everybody's business. I'm amazed they kept the secret. Anyhow, I'm very sorry I wasn't there." He studied the ring on the hand he was holding. It was gaudy for his taste, but he knew Penelope loved things that were sparkle and flash, and he only told her, "congratulations. Your ring is very pretty." It hurt him to talk about it.**

"**Derek…" Oh God, there was so much she wanted to say to him. "Don't you know…?"**

"**Coffee's here," Kevin said, coming through the door. His smile became deadly serious when he saw Morgan holding Penelope's hand.**

**Morgan stood up and spoke to Lynch, his manner becoming very formal. "I wasn't able to come to your gathering the other night, but I want to offer my best wishes to you both. Have you set a date?"**

"**No, not yet." Lynch eyed Morgan with suspicion. He put the coffee cups down on Garcia's desk and stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders, as if protecting his territory. **

"**Well, I need to get to work. See you at the morning brief, Garcia."**

"**Morgan?" She said, softly, as he headed out the door. She wanted to scream. "No Derek, please don't go," but instead she sat quietly, trying not to betray to Kevin the sense of panic she was feeling.**

"**Your cup is the one with the stir in it." He sat down in the seat where Derek had been sitting. "Do you want me to get you another doughnut?"**

"**No," she replied, miserably. "I don't want anything."**

**xxxxx**

**Morgan was relieved to hear that LA police had someone in custody in the arson case. Flying out to California wasn't exactly on top of his "things I want to do today" list. They had five other cases to look at but they only needed profiles sent out to the various police organizations. It appeared he would be able to get out of the office early enough to do some shopping on his way home. He had an idea in mind for Garcia's birthday gift that would take some time to put together. Even though he had apologized to her, he wanted to give her an especially nice present to assuage some of the guilt he still felt over missing the party. **

**He was waiting for the elevator at quarter past five when he again encountered Erin Strauss.**

"**Agent Morgan, I expected you in my office." Her tone seemed chillier than usual. **

"**Ma'am, I'm very sorry. I got so busy today, I totally forgot." **

**Looking at her, he found it hard to reconcile in his mind. This woman was his supervisor. She'd endorsed him for the head job in New York when Hotch wouldn't give him a recommendation. Because of her, he was known to the most important people in the Bureau. Except for one incident, when she likely had too much alcohol in her, her behavior had been above reproach. Yet, when he woke up two days ago, reeling from what was in all probability a drug, she was the most likely person to have given it to him. **

**He continued. "If you don't mind, I'll come by your office the first thing in the morning."**

"**I'll be expecting you." She told him, as he stepped into the elevator.**

**He watched her walking away until the doors closed. She works longer hours than Hotch, he noted. Was it ambition? Loneliness? Both? And did she really try to harm him? Even with all of his experience as a profiler, Erin Strauss baffled him. **

**xxxxx**

**Penelope juggled an armful of items up the long walkway from her car to the front door. She fumbled for her key and let herself inside, glad to be able to put down her load; Anuschka handbag, newspaper, mail, keys and medium pizza. She got a coke and some napkins, and sat down to have a slice of her dinner. Nick's made an extraordinary thick crust pizza and she'd ordered this one with pepperoni and extra cheese. "Nothing like some fattening food to lift a girl's spirits," she thought, dourly.**

**She ignored the ringing phone and let the machine take Kevin's call. She wasn't exactly mad at him. After all, he didn't purposely interrupt her conversation with Morgan, but he certainly brought it to an abrupt halt, and she just didn't want to deal with him right now. **

**For a brief, beautiful moment this morning, she felt close to Derek. Given more time, would she have had the courage to open up to him about her feelings? Could she have told him what, up to this moment, she hadn't even allowed herself to think? That Kevin Lynch is a surrogate. That she is settling because she doesn't think Morgan wants her. "Oh sure, we can be friends, even close friends, but face it, Penelope," she told herself. "In the romance department, men like Morgan want women like Prentiss, or that Tamara Barnes he was seeing for awhile." **

**Suddenly, she'd lost her appetite. She dumped the pizza, box and all, into the trash.**


	7. Chapter 7

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 7

"Em, it's beautiful!" Morgan told her, looking at the basket his co-worker unveiled on his desk.

It was early on Thursday morning, and Derek was anxious for the weekend. He wasn't sure if it was the cases that they were working on this week that he found particularly distasteful, or just that he needed to take some time off, but he was in a lousy mood and emotionally drained. When he saw the brightly decorated basket, his spirits lightened.

Yesterday, he had given Prentiss all of the items he'd accumulated from two evenings of shopping to create a birthday basket for Garcia. Prentiss was known for her artistry and had done several baskets for office events. As Morgan requested, she made Garcia's gift especially colorful. It was topped with a large, fuchsia bow. The package included a book on Japanese animation, a selection of vividly colored hair ribbons, and a bottle of merlot, a box of Belgium chocolates, and a gift certificate for dinner at The Potomac Inn, one of DC's best restaurants. Plus, there were numerous fun items. Among them was a small stuffed panda bear, a jumbo strawberry lollipop, a hand held poker game, lady bug ear rings, a fuzzy picture frame, and even an 80's style mood ring. He recalled how much he enjoyed the "fun drawer" Garcia created for him when she decorated his office, and he was trying hard to reciprocate.

"Do you think she'll like it?" He was starting to feel a little insecure about his choices.

"I'm sure she will." Emily reassured him. "It's obvious that you put a lot of thought into it." Prentiss couldn't help but be envious. With a little encouragement, she could very easily succumb to her own feelings for Morgan, but it was obvious that he had a special bond with Garcia. She'd read the card he selected for her before putting it in the basket. While it wasn't exactly romantic, it made it clear that she was special in his life. "When are you going to give it to her?"

"Well, today is her actual birthday, right? Are you and J.J. still taking her out for lunch?"

"If we can unloosen her from Kevin," she replied, tartly.

Morgan made a face, but held his tongue. Geeze, that guy irritated him! But, if he makes her happy…."I'll put it in her office while you're having lunch." He looked at the basket again, delighted with the way it turned out. "Thanks, Emily. You did a great job."

xxxxx

In the soft candlelight glow, Garcia laid back in the warm tub and let the bubbles envelope her. She sipped merlot from a stemmed glass, poured from the bottle Morgan had given her, and she reflected on the day. She, Emily and J.J. had a fantastic lunch at Madison's in Quantico, a small family restaurant known for their home style food. They took an extra half hour getting back to the office but, fortunately, no one seemed to notice. When she went into her office and saw the present Morgan had left for her, the lump in her throat left her speechless. She knew that, like most men, he disliked shopping, and yet, he'd gone to considerable trouble to find things that she'd like. When she read the card, she totally lost it. "To Someone Very Special…"

At the end of the day, Kevin walked her out to the parking garage, curious about the basket she wouldn't let him carry for her. He suggested coming over tonight, but she blew him off. "Kev, I'm sorry. I think I'm coming down with something," she lied. "I'm going to take a hot bath and go to bed early."

Taking another drink of her merlot, she looked at the ring on her finger and smiled. A silly, ten dollar mood ring had made her the happiest girl in the world.

xxxxx

"Are you just going to stare at your drink, or tell me what's eating you?" Rossi asked. He wasn't annoyed, but he knew that whatever Morgan had wanted to discuss with him was going to need a bit of provocation.

They were seated in a quiet corner of O'Reilly's, a pub near Quantico. It was on the way home for both men. A couple of times a month they'd meet for a sandwich and a beer after work, but on this Thursday night, Morgan had especially wanted to see him.

Finally, "Dave, why did you leave the Bureau? Did it get to you after awhile?"

"Did what get to me? The work?" Rossi had seen signs of burnout in the younger agent in the past few months and wasn't surprised by his question. "Nah, it wasn't the work so much. It was the Bureau. At the time, I disagreed with a lot of the policies. Then Ruby Ridge happened, and Waco. I went from being proud to work for the Bureau, to being embarrassed to tell people what I did for a living." He shrugged and continued. "So, I got the hell out, and started writing books." He grinned when he said, "fortunately, they sold. I didn't have to go out and get a real job." He took a drink of his beer and looked seriously at Morgan. "Why? Are you thinking of leaving?"

Morgan ran his finger lightly around the rim of his glass a couple of times before he answered. "Possibly." At long last, he made eye contact with his friend and began. "The case in Canada first got me thinking about it. God damn, Rossi, I still have nightmares about those fucking pigs. Then, everything that happened with George Foyet. I guess it bothered me more than I wanted to admit, him coming so close to killing me. If falling out of that window hadn't knocked me the fuck out, the bastard would have gutted me just like he did Sgt. O'Mara." He covered his eyes with his hand for a moment and rubbed his forehead, as if remembering things he didn't want to think about. Then, he looked at Rossi again and continued. "Look what this job has done to everyone. Prentiss used to be very self-controlled. Now, on any given day, she looks like she's on the edge. Same with J.J. And Reid. Yeah, I know the drug thing wasn't his fault. Hankel got him hooked, but do you think he would have kept using if it hadn't been for the stress of this work? Gideon went nuts. He's wandering around the Southwest somewhere trying to find himself. And even Hotch snapped, fucking Hotch, who seemed to have it together better than any of us."

"Foyet murdered his wife." Rossi answered, but he understood Morgan's point.

"So he beat him the fuck to death? He murdered him, Rossi. And yes, we all understand why. We had his back and we all swore it was justified. Even Strauss looked the other way. But the truth is Hotch snapped, and he murdered a man. Can you look at him now and not wonder if he is okay…not wonder if he's going to crack again?"

"I worry about him all of the time," Rossi admitted.

"Then that case in Denver a couple of weeks ago, the little McGregor boy. When we arrested the motherfucker who killed him, I cuffed that son of a bitch and walked him down to the police car. When we passed that boy's body, he smirked. He fucking smirked like he was getting off on his handiwork. Rossi, I almost pulled a Hotch. I could have pounded that bastard's head into the pavement without thinking twice about it."

"So it got you to thinking that maybe you're losing it?" Rossi understood Morgan's distress. There were times when he, too, struggled with his own feelings of rage.

"Yeah." Morgan got quiet again and went back to running his finger around the rim of his untouched beer.

"What would you do if you left?"

"I've had several offers. I'm leaning toward a job in Counterterrorism. Strauss introduced me to the Head of the CTU a couple of weeks ago, and she gave me an excellent recommendation. I talked with her about it on Tuesday. I have an interview on Monday."

The mention of Strauss struck a nerve with Rossi. He didn't trust the woman, not even a little bit, and he was concerned for Morgan. "Uh, we're talking about the Erin Strauss, the woman who very possibly drugged you. That Erin Strauss? Blond woman with a stare that could turn you to stone." He realized he was starting to go off and toned down the agitation in his voice. "Derek, what are you doing letting her involve herself in your life?"

"I know, I know," he said, doubting his own judgment. "But Rossi, she really has been helpful. You know it was Erin who recommended me for the head job in New York City. Hotch wouldn't give me a recommendation." There was a hint of resentment in his voice. The fact that Hotch didn't give his approval still hurt. "Dave, I can't figure her out. Maybe she didn't drug me. The tox report was clean. Maybe I just caught a bug or something. Stomach flu has been going around the office. Maybe…"

Aggravated, he cut Morgan off. "You don't black the fuck out for several hours from the flu. Look Morgan," he said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. "Be careful of Strauss. Don't trust her." He took a drink of his beer and continued. "Talk to CTU. See what they have to offer. But don't make any quick decisions. You may just need some time off. Hell, you haven't taken a vacation since I've been back with the Bureau. What's that? Going on three years? Perhaps you just need some time away."

"Maybe," he conceded. All he knew for sure was that he was tired. He had several weeks of vacation time coming. Maybe he would put in for a couple of weeks. For a moment, he pictured himself on a beach, sipping pina colodas, and he smiled.

"C'mon," Rossi suggested. "Let's order some food."

.


	8. Chapter 8

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 8

It was an unseasonably warm day in Quantico. As Morgan pulled into the parking garage, the radio forecaster said it was going to be in the high eighties and possibly go above ninety tomorrow. The prospect delighted Morgan. In spite of his cold Chicago roots, he preferred warm weather, and since having dinner with Rossi last night, he was dreaming of beaches and sunshine. As Rossi had suggested, he was putting in for vacation time. After some research on the Internet, he had decided on two weeks in Barbados. He was planning to stop at Quantico Tours on his way home from work to book the trip.

So energized by the prospect of time off, Morgan was early to work for the second time this week. At quarter to eight, he pulled into a slot two cars away from Penelope. "Hey, Baby Girl," he greeted her, cheerfully, getting out of the car.

Surprised, she turned when she heard his voice. "Hello Handsome! Wow, you're …"

"Don't say it." He interrupted, smiling. "I know." They fell into step together on their way to the building. "Did you like your gift?" He noted that her hair was pulled back with one of the ribbons he had put in her basket.

"Oh Derek, I loved it. Everything was so thoughtful." She wished that they were alone, as she had an overwhelming urge to hug him.

"I'm glad." He said, genuinely happy to have pleased her. "Prentiss decorated the basket," he confessed, "but I did the shopping. Most of it was just silly stuff, but you and Kevin can go out for a nice dinner with the gift certificate." Just as he said the name, there was a loud blast from a horn. It was Lynch, who was looking for a parking place and spotted them near the elevator. Morgan pushed the call button and the doors opened. "Are you coming," he asked, standing back to allow her to enter the lift first.

"Go ahead," she said, dejectedly. "I have to wait for Kevin."

"Of course," he said, with a slight edge to his voice. He stepped inside the elevator, and the doors closed.

Penelope couldn't miss the way Derek's manner changed at the mention of Kevin, and although it wasn't Kevin's fault, she was annoyed with him.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he said, hurrying to catch up with her.

"Hi," she replied, flatly.

xxxxx

"Agent Morgan," Erin Strauss said, as she passed him going into the conference room. She was carrying a cup of coffee and a doughnut. "Could you come by my office later?"

He was surprised at the casualness of her request. Generally, her tone was far more demanding. "I have to teach a self-defense class after the meeting. It would have to be around four."

"Fine. I'll see you then." Morgan thought he'd noticed a small smile as she walked away.

Despite Rossi's suspicions about the woman, Morgan had resolved some of his own misgivings about her. She was gracious when they spoke on Tuesday, telling him about the head of CTU's interest in him. She showed him the fitness report she had submitted on his work with the BAU, plus said that she was recommending him for a Bureau commendation for his heroic actions in New York City.

"I'm flattered, Ma'am," he'd told her, "but I wasn't expecting recognition for what I did. It was all part of the job." Still, he was excited enough by the prospect that he called his mother that night to tell her about it.

He'd concluded that his read of Erin Strauss had been wrong. The suggestive way she had pressed her body against him when they danced at the retirement party was only the alcohol, he reasoned, or his own inflated ego. Getting sick after the reception last weekend was just a bug. It was crazy to think she'd drugged him. Obviously, she hadn't tried to discredit him, and the notion that she would drug him to have sex with him was ridiculous. While she was a perplexing woman in many ways, he'd decided she was okay. As much as he trusted Dave's judgment, he surmised that he had a history with Strauss that clouded his objectivity.

In the meeting this morning, Derek had trouble focusing on the cases. His mind kept escaping to the sandy beaches of Barbados. There was one thing his distracted mind did notice, however. As Penelope Garcia typed away on her laptop, looking for sex offenders in the Dade County area for a case they were profiling, he saw that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring.

xxxxx

Saturday was a hot as promised. Morgan loaded a bathtub enclosure and several boxes of floor tiles onto the back of the pickup truck he kept for working on his properties. He glanced at the temperature on the clock at the bank across the street. It wasn't nine o'clock yet, and it was already eighty-five degrees. He pulled out of Home Depot and headed up the road to his house in Garrisonville, stopping at Wet and Dry Cleaners for his laundry.

"We no get lipstick from white shirt," a middle-aged Asian woman told him in a thick Cantonese accent. "We no charge. Maybe still wear shirt. No see spot where is. So sorry."

"Thanks for letting me know," he told her. "I'll check it out." He smiled as he paid her and said, "keep cool today, Miss. It is going to be very hot."

She retuned his smile with a broad grin of her own when she saw that Morgan wasn't mad. "Very hot here. Machine make hot. Hope no busy today."

"For you, I hope so, too" he nodded, politely, as he left.

He got into the truck, hoping she wasn't talking about the shirt he wore with his tuxedo. It was Armani, and although he bought it on sale, he'd still paid over hundred bucks for it. Maybe she meant the lipstick was on the underside of the collar.

When he got to Garrisonville, he unloaded the truck and went right to work. He had told Strauss he would be at her place about one. Without any snags, he should have the enclosure installed and the new tiles down within a couple of hours.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Agent Morgan," Strauss said, when he went to her office yesterday. "I understand that you know something about construction."

"I have some rental properties I've rehabbed. Why?" He wondered how she knew. It wasn't something he usually talked about.

"I was divorced recently, and I have to find a new place to live. I'm in a miserable little apartment right now. My great aunt died several months ago, and left me a vintage home in Dumfries. I have been getting estimates on remodeling, but I am afraid these construction people tend to take advantage of a woman alone. I get the feeling that they are trying to sell me things that I don't need. I wondered if you could stop by and look at the property. I would like to have someone I can trust evaluate it for me and tell me what needs to be done."

"I'm not an expert, Ma'am. It is just an avocation with me, but I will check it out for you if you'd like." He actually felt a little sorry for Strauss. It was likely were trying to take advantage of her. He knew his mother had been taken advantage of a couple of times.

"Would you have any time tomorrow? I'll be at the house all day cleaning."

"After I do some work at my place in Garrisonville, I can come by. Maybe around one, two at the latest."

"I would be very grateful, Agent," she said, getting up from her desk. "Here are the directions. Call my cell if you have any problems finding it. I'm afraid it is a bit off of the beaten track." She rested her hand on his back as he studied paper she'd handed him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I think I can find this Ma'am. I'll see you tomorrow."

For the second time that day, Erin Strauss smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 9

Sitting on a shaded bench in Quantico Park, Penelope watched the sunlight dancing on the Potomac. Pairs of lovers could be seen around the park. A young father and his son were sailing a remote controlled boat on the river. Children were playing on the nearby playground, while their diligent mothers watched over them. Penelope was the only one who seemed to be alone. As she sipped her lemon slushy, she reflected on last night's conversation with Kevin.

Telling him had been so hard. He broke down and cried when she returned the ring. "But I thought you loved me?" He questioned, incredulously.

"I do love you, Kevin. I'm just not ready." She held his hand, as if it could ease the pain of what she was saying.

"Can we still see each other?" Hearing him sound so desperate broke her heart, but she continued.

"Not for awhile, Kev. I need some time."

So afraid of seeing the answer in her face, he couldn't bring himself to look at her when he asked. "Is there someone else?"

Penelope was an honest person, but not cruel. "No" she lied. "There's no one else."

She held him for a long moment before he left her apartment, not as a woman holds her lover, but as a mother comforts an injured child. "Will you be alright driving home?"

"Yes," he said, hoarsely, and he left her apartment for the last time.

The sunshine caught the ring she was wearing and it sparkled. In the few days that she'd worn it, it was mostly black. On this warm Saturday afternoon, her mood ring had turned a bright shade of blue-green.

xxxxx

It was after dark when Morgan pulled his pickup into the garage. He was aggravated with himself for getting home so much later than he'd planned. There was a pile of paperwork he had postponed from yesterday. His intention had been to put on the game and catch up on reports this evening, but he had lost much of his time, and definitely lost his motivation.

He grabbed his mail and laundry from the front seat and went in through the back door. Taking a beer from the refrigerator, he sat down to look though his stack of letters. Since missing Garcia's invitation, he was being more careful about not letting his mail pile up. Playboy came today, which would ordinarily delight him, but tonight, he didn't even take it out of the wrapper. It was would remind him of what he was trying to forget.

He finished his beer and took another, and went down to his basement weight room. He lifted for awhile, then put on gloves and slammed the shit out of his punching bag, trying to diffuse some of his feelings. "What the hell were you thinking, Derek?" He asked himself, angrily. "You're not some horny high school kid." He pounded the bag until he wore himself out. As he was on his way upstairs to take a shower, the phone rang.

"Morgan," he answered, curtly, not wanting to talk to anyone.

"Hello, Derek," Erin Strauss said, sweetly, on the other end of the line. "How are you doing?"

He couldn't mistake the flirtatious tone to her voice, but wasn't about to make small talk with her. "I'm in bed," he fibbed.

"I won't keep you, then. I just wanted to say 'good-night.'"

"Night," he replied, and quickly hung up. He got another beer and went to take his shower. Maybe if he got drunk enough he could forget that he'd slept with the fucking boss.

xxxxx

Erin closed her book and laid it beside her on the sofa. She found it impossible to concentrate on her Arabesque novel. She wondered if Morgan was thinking of her, too, and she phoned him, but he was short with her and didn't want to talk. She hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. She understood. It would take time.

Morgan had arrived at her home shortly after one o'clock. When she heard his truck coming up the long, dirt driveway, she went to the door to meet him. "Hello, Derek." She greeted him, cheerfully. "Did you have any problems finding me?"

"No, Ma'am," he replied, politely. "You gave good directions." He stepped out of the truck with a clipboard in his hand, prepared to take notes on the work she wanted done. She watched him approach her. Erin had never seen him dressed in work clothes before and the black jeans and tee he was wearing emphasized his athletic physique. He moves, she thought, suppressing a grin, with the grace of a cat on the prowl.

For a long moment, Derek stood, looking about, assessing the impressive structure. It was a sturdy stone cottage with a steeply sloped roof. Two wide chimneys were on either end of the house, indicating fireplaces. The doorway was a low arch, and he instinctively ducked as he followed Strauss inside. Morgan estimated the Tudor styled home was well over a hundred years old.

For the next two hours, Erin showed Morgan through the house, discussing what work needed to be done in each room. She was impressed with his knowledge of construction, which seemed as extensive as his expertise in profiling. He examined the plumbing and electrical systems, and made recommendations on renovations. He scribbled notes as they talked. With the afternoon temperature over ninety, it became very sultry in the old house, and when Erin offered him something to drink, Derek readily accepted.

"Iced tea or lemonade?" She asked him. He was seated at the kitchen table still making notes. "They're both homemade."

"Lemonade? I haven't had fresh lemonade in years." He smiled when he recalled, "my mother used to make a pitcher every morning in the summer."

Acutely conscious of the difference in their ages, Erin was annoyed by the parallel he'd drawn between her and his mother, but she hid her irritation and smiled, while she put ice in his glass and filled it. She watched him drink, waiting for a sign that the drug was affecting him. She used less this time, and purposely didn't offer him alcohol. She felt badly about making him ill after the reception, but she had underestimated the potency of the medication.

He finished his drink and she refilled his glass with untainted lemonade. She was beginning to think she had given him too little of the drug, when he put down his pen and rubbed his forehead. "I, uh…Ma'am, I think, uh, I need to go home." He felt very strange. He wanted to get up but couldn't find the energy to move. He could only sit with his hand shielding his eyes from the light in the room, which suddenly seemed very bright. Twice, he had to swallow hard, fighting an awful urge to be sick.

"Are you alright?" When he didn't respond, "I think the heat in here has been too much for you, Derek," she told him, kindly. He didn't have the stamina to resist when she helped him to his feet, and led him to the small room adjacent to the kitchen. "You can lie down for awhile on the daybed in the den. It's much cooler in there."

If he'd had his head on straight, he would have told her it wasn't the heat. He worked out in the heat all of the time and it never bothered him, but for some reason, he couldn't formulate thoughts clearly.

The den was the only room in the old house with an air conditioning unit, and it was considerably cooler. He did feel better, lying on the small bed, refreshed by the chilled air. Erin slipped a pillow under his head, and he drifted off to sleep.

At first he thought he was dreaming, but the feelings were too intense to be an illusion.

Lying naked beside Section Chief Strauss was very real. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Rossi's admonishment, that he should be careful of her, that he shouldn't get involved with her, nagged at him, but right now, he didn't care. He hadn't been with a woman since he'd stopped seeing Tamara Barnes and his drug heightened appetite for sex was overpowering. Their love-making had been fiery, frenzied and immensely satisfying. He might have fallen back to sleep, but Erin began touching him again, first with exploring hands, and then with her mouth, quickly arousing his desire to enter her once more.

Erin picked up her romance novel again. The book title was "The Perfect Man." A muscular, light-skinned black man, who somewhat resembled Derek Morgan, was on the cover of the steamy publication, and it made her smile. It may take a little time, Derek, but I can wait.

.


	10. Chapter 10

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 10

After two days of unseasonable heat, a cold front moved into Virginia overnight causing severe thunderstorms. It was raining heavily when Morgan dashed out to Rossi's Pathfinder. He tossed his bag in the back, and slammed the door harder than necessary as he got in. When he got the 3 a.m. call to come in for a case, he wasn't exactly drunk, but he wasn't fit to drive, either. "Dave, can you pick me up?" He asked when he called him.

"No problem. I'll be right there. We'll be going right to the airport, you know. Wheels up as soon as there's a break in the storm."

"What do you know about the case?" Morgan inquired.

"Six year old girl in Alabama was reported missing just a couple of hours ago. They called us right in."

"Shit," he said, almost in a whisper. Morgan had a bad feeling about the case already. He'd rarely worked on a child abduction case that ended well.

Five minutes later, Rossi pulled into his driveway. It was long before sunrise, but Derek was wearing dark glasses. He smelled of beer and an aura about him seemed angry. "You want to talk about it?" Rossi asked.

"Fuck, no," he snapped, confirming Rossi's perception. Derek put his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, wishing for a few more hours of sleep. A minute later he sat up and apologized, realizing he'd been rude. "I'm sorry, man. I'm hung over. I sure as shit wasn't ready to be called in to work."

"Big night?" Rossi inquired.

"Nope, I've been home alone."

"Man gets drunk alone; he either has a problem with alcohol, or problems with women." Rossi suggested.

"You know damned well I don't have a problem with alcohol." He laid his head back again.

The rain had eased some by the time Rossi pulled into the 7/11 parking lot. "I'm getting us some coffee. Do you want anything else?"

"No, thanks." He watched his friend through the large windows of the convenience store. He almost wished he could unload on him. He trusted Rossi. Maybe he'd have some suggestions on damage control. When Rossi got back into the car, he handed Morgan an extra large cup of black coffee. Derek smiled. "Trying to sober me up?"

"You need to be able to focus on the case. This is probably going to be a rough one."

"Yeah," he agreed, taking a drink of his coffee. "You know, that little girl is probably dead already. You know how these cases come down. It's either going to be an inside job, or the local pedophile, but we'll be looking for a body."

"Maybe we'll get lucky this time." Rossi said, but he knew it was likely that Morgan was right.

"May-be." Derek cleared his throat, nervously, and said it. "I slept with Erin Strauss."

"Excuse me?" Rossi questioned. Perhaps with the noise of the storm and the windshield wipers, he hadn't heard him correctly.

"I fucked Erin." This time there was no mistaking what he'd said. "I went out yesterday to the house she's moving into to give her advice on the renovations she wants to make, and one thing led to another, and…"

Rossi sipped his coffee and pretended to listen impassibly while Morgan told him his story. It amazed him that Morgan, whom he admired for his acuity as a profiler, could be so damned naive when it came to women. "Derek, doesn't it strike you as odd, that every time you consume a beverage around the woman that something happens to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Geeze, I've seen you spend your lunch hour jogging the grounds at Quantico on summer days and the heat doesn't bother you, but you walk around a stuffy house for a couple of hours and get so light-headed you have to lie down. Really? Since when did you get so God damned delicate?" He recognized that he was ranting, and attempted to tone his rhetoric down a little. "Derek, I know this woman…intimately. She can soften that icy manner of hers, smile sweetly, and she can sucker you in. She was an incredibly beautiful woman when I knew her. Hell, she's still damned good-looking. It's a temptation." Morgan wasn't surprised when Rossi confirmed his suspicion that he had a history with Strauss. He was so vehement when he talked about her, there had to be more to it. Rossi continued. "But, she's ambitious and she's manipulative. You're a handsome guy. My guess is she decided she wants you, and believe me, she gets what she wants."

"So, what are you saying to me?"

"I think she did slip something in your drink at Director Gray's reception. Maybe she was a little heavy handed and that's what fucked you up. This time, she used less, but enough to have the desired effect."

"Rossi, that would be a felony." Strauss had been so nice to him; Morgan had convinced himself that he had been wrong about her.

"Yeah, and no one in the Bureau would ever do anything illegal. Eh?" He smirked. "Remember good ol' J. Edgar?" The rain had stopped by the time Rossi changed lanes to for the airport access road. "Looks like we'll be able to take off right away," he commented. "Morgan, you didn't do anything wrong. Two consenting…well, at least one consenting adult…and you…had sex. Unless Erin has lost her touch, it was probably damned good sex, too."

In spite of himself, Morgan grinned. He had no complaints.

"You just need to be careful of her." He parked his Pathfinder next to J.J.'s mini-van, and shut off the engine. He looked at Morgan. "How are you feeling? Did the coffee help?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He wasn't as angry with himself after talking with Rossi, and the coffee did help to clear his head. He finished the last of his drink, and resigned himself to keeping his attention on the case. Maybe they would get lucky this time.

xxxxx

Penelope sat at her kitchen table, sipping freshly brewed coffee and typing on her laptop, researching sex offenders in the Wilcox County, Alabama area. The sun had just come up, but she had been working since she got the call from Morgan. When the phone woke her at quarter past five, she was expecting it to be Kevin Lynch. He had already called her twice since their breakup, upset and trying to persuade her to change her mind. "Hello," she said, sleepily.

"Hi, Pen. I'm sorry to wake you. I know you probably have company…"

"There's no one here," she said, quickly. Upon hearing Derek's voice, she was suddenly alert.

"We're in Alabama, Baby Girl. We're racing the clock on this one. Six year old girl was reported missing around midnight. This is a pretty poor area, and the police resources are limited. I need you to get into the Bureau system and research pedophiles for me." Penelope sat up and began making notes on the pad she kept by the phone. As sad as the situation was that Derek was describing, she couldn't help but be happy to hear his voice. "Also, find me whatever you can on the family. Father is James Henry Conway, and the mother is Sylvia Davis Conway. The little girl is Samantha Conway. I don't think the family is involved. They're pretty distraught, but check them out anyway. I may have some fingerprints to send you soon, too."

"Okay, Sugar Buns. I'm on it."

Penelope Garcia was as dedicated as any member of the BAU, but for Derek Morgan, she would do her job with extra zeal. Still clad in her pajamas and fuzzy slippers, she was sending him the requested information, as fast as she could access it.

Although she was too busy to notice, her mood ring was still a beautiful shade of blue-green.


	11. Chapter 11

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 11

With a headache and nearly no sleep, Morgan wasn't in the mood to coddle the scumbags he had to interview this morning. In a tiny room of the Camden, Alabama police station, he'd aggressively questioned many of the sex offenders from the area, but none of the local pervs seemed to fit the profile the team had worked up.

The small Wilcox County town was going into the second week of a major hot spell. The Conway's did not have air conditioning in their modest bungalow. At nine o'clock on Saturday night, Samantha's mother gave her a cool bath and dressed her in a light gown. She switched on the oscillating fan on the dresser, and left the windows open when she put the little girl in bed. By the time she'd read the fifth page of "The Frog Prince," Samantha was sound asleep. At midnight, when her parents were on their way to bed, Samantha's mother looked in on her. The window screen had been pushed in from the outside and the child was gone. Her parents never heard anything and nothing but the screen was amiss, indicating that the girl hadn't struggled with her kidnapper. It was likely that she knew the person who'd abducted her.

While Morgan interviewed the sex offenders the police brought in, Reid observed their behavior through a one way mirror, looking for "tells." J.J. was busy going through some police files and answering calls about the case. The rest of the team had gone out to the crime scene. They were talking to the Conway's neighbors. Since unsubs like to involve themselves in the investigation, they were also studying the people in the search party.

It was nearly noon when Morgan finished questioning the last of the offenders on the list Garcia had sent, a man named Leon Beckman. He has just been released from jail after serving time for exposing himself to a group of school girls. So angered by Beckman's talk about his "special love for children," Derek indulged the delicious fantasy of knocking the bastard through the nearest wall. It was then he knew he had to take a break. Besides, he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.

J.J. and Reid went with Morgan to Nellie's' Café, a homey place half a block from the police station. A young man, with acne and a mop of red curls, handed them menus. "Are y'all some of dem FBI dudes?" He asked, in a heavy Alabama accent. Derek introduced himself and his co-workers. "I'm Jeremy." He told them, grinning with crooked, yellowed teeth. He looked to be about eighteen. The kid seemed impressed by the agents and watched them closely. Morgan noticed that he was eying the guns they were wearing. "Y'all got any leads 'bout who took S'mantha?" He asked, when he came to take their order.

"We're working on it," Derek replied, impassively. "Do you know the little girl?" He studied the young man. He seemed affable enough, but Morgan's "cop radar" got a strange vibe from him. Something about him felt wrong.

"She plays with my l'il sister sometimes. My sister, Annabelle, had a birthday party she come to 'couple weeks back."

"Was that the last time you saw her?"

"Yes, sir. I b'lieve so."

The food was nothing out of the ordinary, but Morgan was so hungry that he enjoyed his burger and fries immensely. After lunch, he glanced at his watch with two thoughts going through his mind. One was the delightful realization that about this time, two weeks from today, he would be boarding a plane for Barbados. The second was the unnerving thought that Samantha had been missing for at least twelve hours. He didn't need Reid spouting statistics to remind him that most missing children are murdered within twenty-four hours after their abduction.

While he and his co-workers ate, they avoided talking about the case, as Jeremy stayed close by them and would have overheard everything. When they left, Morgan personally handed the young man a generous tip. "Thanks, Jeremy." He shook his hand. "What did you say your last name was?"

The young man hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't want to say. Finally, "Robinson," he answered.

"Nice meeting you," Derek told him.

They were barely across the street before he was on his cell with Penelope, asking her to research Jeremy Robinson. Garcia had just sent him the names and address of Samantha's classmates, which was their next step in the investigation. Since it was Sunday, they would to have to stop by each home to talk with the children. Perhaps one of them had seen someone hanging around or watching Samantha. There was an Annabelle Robinson on the list. That would be the first house they would visit.

xxxxx

By the time she had the opportunity to get dressed, it was afternoon. Although she'd had plans, Penelope was just as happy to have been busy with her research. Heck, she didn't really want to go to the gym anyway, which was one of the things she'd intended to do. Months ago, she had signed up for a two-year gym membership, but had barely used it. Since she was single again, she thought she should make an effort. If she was going to compete for Derek Morgan, she figured she needed to be svelte.

Hum? She asked herself. Was that what she was going to do, compete for Morgan? Kevin loved her "as is." Could Derek? Do chubby chicks ever get the handsome jocks? She'd watched the women at the retirement party. They were clamoring to dance with him, slipping him phone numbers. Even Section Chief Strauss was rubbing her scrawny self up against him when they were dancing. Prentiss liked Derek. She could see it every time she looked at him. Beautiful, size 3 Emily would be with him in a heartbeat if he gave her encouragement.

Garcia broke up with Kevin because, as much as she loved him, her heart was with Morgan. "Well, Pen," she mused. "You may end up alone, but hey, at least you're true to yourself." Her thoughts were interrupted by another call from Morgan, and she began researching Jeremy Robinson.

xxxxx

Throughout the afternoon, people associated with the search would stop into the café to pick up takeouts. Jeremy would chat with them as he waited on them, looking for updates on the case. He was relieved to know that they were not searching near to where he had hidden her. The old Prairie Bluff graveyard had been forgotten long ago. Nowadays, you couldn't even find the ghost town of Prairie Bluff on maps, and no one had been buried there since the 1860s. Jeremy was confident that Samantha was secured in the abandoned cemetery's old stone shed. Even if she managed to get herself untied, Jeremy had frightened her with stories of the ghosts who would terrorize her if she ventured outside.

He never meant for it to go this far. When Samantha came to his sister's birthday celebration, he was aroused by her. As young as she was, he was attracted to her to her sparkling personality. He thought she was so beautiful. He loved the way her long, blond hair shimmered in the sun when she was playing outside with the other children. Her laugh was infectious, almost musical. When he went to bed that night, he masturbated, thinking of Samantha. He had to pass her house on his way home from work every day. He began parking in a wooded area down the street where he could watch her playing in her yard. One evening, he noticed laundry still hanging on the clothesline. After dark, he crept into the backyard and stole a pair of small pink panties. Just holding her underwear aroused him, and when he ejaculated into them that night, it was the most intense pleasure he had ever experienced.

Last night, he parked his car in a concealed spot down the street. He only meant to observe Samantha through the window. It was late, and he knew she would be asleep. He approached the house quietly, and stood at her window. In the ethereal glow of her nightlight, she looked like an angel as she slept. He imagined touching her tiny body and it excited him. Whether it was that his desire for the child was so overwhelming, or that his judgment was impaired by the beers he'd drunk with a buddy earlier, the impulse to have her was more than he could control.

Jeremy didn't want to harm Samantha, but he knew she would tell if he set her free. He would do it gently, he reasoned. After he finished his shift at Nellie's, he would take her some chicken nuggets and fries, her favorite. He would talk with her, reassure her, and promise to take her home. He would hold her very tenderly while he strangled her, so she wouldn't have time to be afraid. After all, he loved her.


	12. Chapter 12

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 12

"Morgan, wake up." Rossi said, shaking him. "Morgan! C'mon, son. We've landed."

Morgan opened his eyes and looked around, drowsily. It took him several seconds to realize where he was. He yawned and stretched as he sat up. He'd been leaned back on a reclining seat of the BAU jet, sleeping soundly. "Damn, I don't even remember taking off." Friday night was his last full night's sleep and with the case behind them, fatigue had caught up to him.

His teammates were standing, gathering their bags, preparing to deplane. Hotch turned as he was about to leave the plane and said, "take some extra time tomorrow, everyone. Just be in by one."

It would feel good to sleep late in the morning, Derek thought, enjoying the thought. It was early Monday evening. He was looking forward to something to eat, a long shower, and bed. He yawned again and stood up.

"Here, I've got your bag," Rossi told him, handing it to him. He looked at Morgan. "It is a good thing I'm driving," he commented, noticing how worn out he was. "You awake enough to stop at O'Reilly's for some dinner? I'm buying."

Morgan grinned, as he followed him off the plane. "Shit, I can't turn that down."

xxxxx

Rossi sat back in his chair and sipped his peach brandy. "Are you sure you don't want a drink?" He swirled the rich liquid in the snifter he was holding and took another drink. "Or, desert?" He offered.

"No, I'm good. Coffee's fine. Having some decent coffee is a treat after all the lousy shit we drank at the police station for two days. Besides, I'm afraid I'll nod off right here if I drink." Morgan poured some cream into his cup and stirred. "So, why did you buy me dinner? Is it my birthday or something, or are you going to try to have your way with me tonight?" He joked.

Rossi smiled, but answered seriously. "You did amazing work on the Conway case, Derek. Little girl is alive because of you. Jeremy Robinson wasn't even on our radar, and you sniffed him out. Hell, at the very least, I thought that deserved a steak dinner."

"Thanks." Embarrassed, Derek looked down at his cup, but it felt good to have the respect of the BAU's founding profiler.

"What made you suspect Robinson?"

"He was too friendly. When I was a beat cop, it was one of the first things I learned. If someone was too friendly, sure as shit, they were hiding something. Maybe they'd have drugs on them, a weapon," he chuckled, "or a body in their trunk." Most people are intimidated when they talk to a cop, even if they're innocent, but if they're overly friendly, trust me, they're guilty of…something. I talked to that kid at lunchtime, and then went back to the cafe to get a takeout for dinner. He asked too many questions. He was just too buddy-buddy, you know? I got a weird vibe from him, so I got J.J. and Reid, and we followed him when he left work. I was playing a hunch."

"Do you realize that you missed your interview with the Director of Counterterrorism today."

"I called him."

"Did you reschedule?" Rossi asked him, noticing that Morgan looked a little uncomfortable that he'd mentioned it.

"Not yet."

"Changed your mind about leaving the BAU?"

Derek thought back to last night in Alabama, and the moment he had a change of heart. After he's cuffed Jeremy Robinson, J.J. and Reid walked him outside to meet the police and the rest of the team, who were making their way through the cemetery back to the shed. He had called them for backup when he saw that Robinson was heading out of town and they arrived a few minutes behind him. In the soft glow of a lantern's light, Morgan knelt down beside Samantha and unwrapped the garrote that was tied around her neck. The child had a weak heartbeat, but wasn't breathing. After the fourth breath that Morgan blew into her small body, Samantha coughed, took a breath, and opened her eyes. "My name is Derek," he told her, gently taking the child in his arms. "I'm going to take you home to Mommy and Daddy." She slipped her thin arms around his neck as he picked her up, and she buried her face against him. It was at that moment he knew he couldn't leave the BAU.

He felt awkward about telling Rossi his feelings, and he only said, "I'm going on vacation next week. I'll decide after I come back. Like you suggested, Dave, maybe I just need some time off."

Rossi knew he wouldn't be making a call to reschedule his interview. "Heard from Erin?" He asked, changing the subject. He couldn't help but be amused by the paradox, Morgan's brilliance as a profiler, and his naivety with women.

"No." For all of the guilt he felt over sleeping with her, Morgan hadn't thought about Strauss since they left to work on the case, and hated to be reminded of the situation. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with her.

"You will. She's too professional to bother you about anything personal when you're on a job." Rossi grinned. "But you'll hear from her."

xxxxx

Penelope couldn't believe she was actually nervous about calling him. Of course, she phoned him all the time while they were working, but that was business. She and Derek hadn't really talked as friends in over a year. As she and Kevin became closer, Derek became more distant. Oh, there were glimpses of the old Derek, when he apologized for missing her party or when he was upset about that little MacGregor boy, but the emotional connection they once shared had mostly disappeared. The brave, frightened agent, who'd risked his life to drive a ticking time bomb into Central Park, had made her promise to never stop talking to him, and yet, he had stopped talking to her.

Penelope glanced in the mirror before she picked up the phone. The sweater she was wearing emphasized her girth and she thought about changing, and then she laughed at her own absurdity. He can't see what you're wearing, Pen, she told herself. Besides, you've been fighting the same sixty pounds since puberty. If you wait until you're slim, you may never talk with him. She hit Morgan's number on speed dial, and called.

After Rossi dropped him off, Derek took the long shower he had promised himself. He was drying off when the phone rang. Seeing Garcia on the caller ID, he assumed it was work related, and he almost hated to answer. Maybe he wouldn't be getting the good night's sleep he was wishing for after all. "Morgan," he answered, wearily.

"Hi, Cupcake," Garcia said, cheerfully.

"What's up?" Damn, he hoped there wasn't a case.

"I saw your picture on the news."

"Mine?" He questioned.

"Aren't you the gorgeous ebony hunk in the FBI vest who rescued a little girl in Alabama last night?"

"Oh, I didn't know they photographed me." Holding the phone with his shoulder, he pulled on a pair of boxer briefs and sat down on the bed. "I wish they hadn't." As an investigator, it was to his advantage to keep a low profile, and he wasn't happy to have his image out there. His annoyance was reflected in his voice when he said, "Is that what you called me about?"

Penelope was hurt by his abrupt tone. It clearly sounded like he didn't want to talk to her. Fighting tears, she dropped her flirtatious tone and replied quickly. "I'm sorry I bothered you, Derek. You're tired. I'll let you go."

"Wait, Penelope," he said, when he heard the hurt in her voice. "Why did you call me?"

She felt foolish admitting to him, "I just wanted to talk." God, this wasn't going well. It wasn't the same between them anymore. She would have to accept that. She shouldn't have called. "Look, I'll see you at the office tomorrow. I didn't mean to…"

"Penelope, I'm sorry. I was short with you because I thought you were calling about work. I figured you were going to tell me we were coming in on another case."

"No, but you're tired. I'll let you go."

"Are you alone?" He inquired. He remembered that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring in the meeting on Friday, and she had said she was alone when he called her on Sunday morning to research their case. He was curious, but was too polite to ask about Lynch.

"Yes, I'm alone." More alone than you know, Derek, she thought, sardonically.

"I'm never too tired for you, Baby Girl. Let me just get under the covers here," he said, climbing into bed.

They talked until Morgan fell asleep an hour and a half later.


	13. Chapter 13

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 13

Energized by his success in Alabama, and counting down the days until his vacation, the week went by quickly for Morgan. Although he had kept his distance from Penelope when she was with Lynch, now that he was out of the picture, they flirted like a pair of lascivious teenagers. Penelope told Morgan about her breakup with Kevin, but only said that he was taking things too fast and she wasn't ready to settle down. She didn't have the courage to admit to Morgan that it was her feelings for him that got in the way.

Morgan learned that Lynch had applied for a job overseas. With his impeccable computer skills, he was virtually assured the technical analyst position he was seeking with Counterintelligence. For some reason, Kevin Lynch had always rubbed him the wrong way, but Morgan was gracious enough to shake his hand and wish him success when he found himself sharing the elevator with him this morning.

Happily, Strauss was away all week, attending a conference in San Francisco. Derek was true to his word. He prepared a list of renovation suggestions for her property, and attached a list of contractors he trusted to do the work. He mailed it to her home with a brief note, and the suggestion that she make them aware of her affiliation with the FBI. "They'll be less inclined to take advantage of you if they know you're with the Bureau," he joked, but he meant it seriously.

As to his "sexual encounter" with Erin, he was going to try to forget it ever happened. He was determined to avoid her as much a possible. Since he had decided to stay with the BAU, he didn't need any more of her help making the right "connections." If she drugged him, unfortunately, there was no way he could prove it. Rossi had taken him to the ER after the reception, but his blood and urine tested clean. Did she drug him on Saturday? Possibly, but he couldn't prove that either, and it was hard to argue that he was a victim since he'd intercourse with her at least three times.

It was just before five on Friday. Morgan had been working on a profile for a serial rape case in Connecticut area. It took him longer than it should have to complete it, as his mind kept escaping to the crystalline beaches of Barbados. He had plans to work on his property in Garrisonville again this weekend, hoping to have it finished so that his rental agent could begin showing it on Monday. He was going to go to the gym, then home, as soon as he faxed his report to the Connecticut State Police. He was just sending the last page when J.J. appeared in his office doorway.

"Sorry, Morgan. Conference Room ASAP."

With a sigh of resignation, Morgan picked up a notebook, and went down to the meeting. Garcia was already seated at the table with her laptop, carefully keeping her eyes focused downward, avoiding the disturbing images posted on the boards. "Hey, Baby Girl," he said, taking a seat beside her, but there was no levity in his voice. They both knew from the photos J.J. had put up that this one would be ugly.

xxxxx

Seventeen hours later, Morgan was with the team in Nashua, New Hampshire, giving a profile to the local police. The unsub they were looking for had murdered four area men. Each victim was found on a motel room bed, naked, bound and gagged. The men's genitals had been amputated, and they were left to hemorrhage. The profilers suspected a woman, most likely a prostitute. She would have a background of sexual abuse and she harbored a deep hatred for men, the profilers told the officers. They had considered the possibility that the unsub could be a gay man, but dismissed the idea when none of the victims were found to be homosexual. A heterosexual man would not have gone, willingly, to a motel with another man.

It wasn't the grizzly mutilations that were disturbing to Derek. He'd become accustomed to the sights associated with his occupation a long time ago. Although crime scenes involving children could occasionally upset him, he was professional enough to do his work, seemingly unaffected. Penelope, however, could always detect it from his voice when he was stressed out over a case, and she knew this one was troubling to him. As he delved deeper into the investigation, he'd learned the victims had been drugged. Listening to the coroner describe the effects of date rape drugs, forced Morgan to accept the probability that he had been drugged by Strauss, and that he found very disturbing.

On Monday, his second night in Nashua, Morgan awoke at three a.m. with a jolt. At different times in his life, he had suffered from nightmares. It happened to many people who did this work. For the most part, he had put his demons to rest, but tonight they were very lively. He didn't try going back to sleep, but, instead, spent the rest of the night working on his laptop and studying his case notes.

As the investigation progressed, they tied the Nashua murders to three other killings in New England, two in Rutland, Vermont and one in Northfield, Massachusetts. Since homicides are rare in the mostly rural region and the police systems unsophisticated, the connection was not immediately picked up.

Derek and Prentiss spent Tuesday driving to the other towns to interview potential witnesses. At one of the out of state crime scenes, a witness had seen a car that could be associated with the suspect. He even had part of a license plate number. Morgan alerted Garcia immediately, who began looking for a match for the car and the plates.

Confused dreams of the murders he was investigating, mixed with images from his past, and kept Morgan up again for most of the next night. On Wednesday morning, they arrested Stephanie Beckman based on a match Garcia made on her car. The murder weapon was found in her trunk.

xxxxx

On the plane trip back to Quantico, Rossi was beating Morgan at Gin Rummy. Derek yawned, as he tallied the lopsided score. Rossi looked at his sleepy friend and shook his head. "Morgan, do you have some secret night life that I don't know about, or do you suffer from insomnia?" He was joking, but he did wonder why his friend always seem to be sleep deprived.

"I couldn't get comfortable in the bed at the motel," he lied, not wanting to admit that he'd been having nightmares.

"Hey, you're leaving pretty soon. Aren't you?" Rossi asked, shuffling the cards for the next hand.

"Sunday," he answered, yawning again, arranging the cards he'd been dealt.

It was Wednesday afternoon. Morgan was planning on going into his office to work for several hours before going home. He hoped that tonight, in his own bed, he might be able to get a decent night's sleep. "Just think," he told Rossi with amusement. "If they call us in to work again this weekend," he smiled, broadly, "I'll be on the tarmac waving good-bye to your ass, because I'll be on vacation." He sat back in his seat and reveled in the thought, retreating for a moment to the beaches of Barbados.

Rossi was glad to see Morgan taking some well-deserved time off, and even envied him a little, too, knowing that his own vacation was several months away. It crossed his mind to ask if he'd talked to Strauss since she'd come back from California, but he decided not to ruin Morgan's mood of the moment. Awh hell, he'd be hearing from her soon enough. He picked up a seven of hearts from the pile, and lay down his cards. "Gin!"

xxxxx

Penelope shut down her system, silencing the music that had been playing in her office. It allowed her to hear the vacuum humming out in the bullpen. Gee, she hadn't realized it was so late. The cleaning crew didn't come in until after seven. No wonder she was so hungry. She'd been working on a program she was developing, and totally lost track of the time. She picked up her purse and went out the door.

"Hi, Deb," she greeted the young woman who was cleaning near Reid's desk. "How's your baby?"

The pretty, dark haired girl switched off the machine and got her cell phone out of her pocket. "I've got some new pictures," she told Garcia, approaching her. Debbie DeSantis proudly displayed four new photos of her son. "He's walking now."

Garcia made an appropriate fuss over the toddler while Debbie beamed. "I hope you'll bring him in to see me again," Garcia told her. "He's a cutie."

"I will," she promised. Debbie clicked the vacuum on. Garcia noticed one office still lighted on the second level. Following an impulse, she squared her shoulders and headed for Morgan's office.

Derek rubbed his eyes. He made some final notes and closed the file he had been studying, too bleary eyed to continue. Good, he thought. Maybe I'll get some sleep. He leaned back and stretched, just as there was a tap at his door. "Come in," he said, wondering who else was still in the office. He thought everyone had gone home a couple of hours ago. "Hey, Baby!" He said, delighted that it was Penelope. "What are you doing here so late?"

Without waiting for an invitation, she sat down on the chair across the desk from him. "I was working on something, and lost track of time." She shrugged. "Besides, I don't have much nightlife anymore," she told him, sardonically.

Penelope wasn't generally shy, but she could be with Morgan. As close as they had been at different times, she could get hung up about her feelings for him. She would get self-conscious about what she was wearing, or how her hair looked. Sometimes, she felt so doggone fat! Men like Morgan aren't attracted to women like her, she'd remind herself, not in a girlfriend way. The one guy she dated who was as smoking hot as Derek put a bullet in her chest.

Maybe she shouldn't have come up here. She was starting to lose her confidence. But, hey, he was smiling. He looked happy to see her. Okay, Girl, what have you got to lose? The most he can do is say "no." She took a deep breath and asked him…

Derek looked across at Penelope. He knew it was selfish, but he was so glad Lynch was gone. He'd missed her this past year. There was a short list of people he really trusted in this world, but Garcia was top of the list. He was glad they could be close again.

She was wearing a bright, yellow, flower print dress with a matching bow in her hair. She had on dangling, butterfly earrings and the silly mood ring he'd given her was on her finger. Only Penelope, he thought, amused.

"Yeah, I don't have much nightlife myself," he admitted, putting the file in his desk drawer.

Penelope wasn't the most beautiful girl he had ever been with, but she had an infectious smile and a kind heart, which gave her a beauty all of her own. What Strauss did hurt him more than he would care to admit. She'd made him feel ashamed and used. It made him doubt himself. Did she try to advance his career because she really felt he was competent, or because she desired him? He was angry that he didn't see it or follow Rossi's advice. Damn it, Derek. You study human behavior for a living, and you still denied what you didn't want to believe. Manipulative Erin Strauss was a big part of why he hadn't slept in two nights. He knew, too, that Penelope Garcia had never intentionally hurt anyone in her life. Impulsively, he asked...

"Penelope, would you have dinner with me?

"Morgan, would you have dinner with me?"

They'd asked each other at the same time, and then broke into giggles at the coincidence.

"So, how about it, Beautiful?" Morgan asked, getting up from his desk.

"I'd love it."

Morgan held the door for her and followed her out. He reached back and switched off the light. "Where would you like to go?"


	14. Chapter 14

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 14

Erin Strauss took extra time with her grooming. She planned to see Morgan when she went into Headquarters this morning. She hadn't seen him since their last little "liaison," as she liked to think of it. Having been away in San Francisco, and the team being called out on cases, had kept them apart for nearly two weeks. She was hoping they could spend some time together before he left for his vacation.

Derek was an extraordinary lover, just as she knew he would be. Oh, she realized his sexual appetite was enriched by the drug, but she was sure that, even without the enhancement, he would be exquisite. Just thinking of her time with him excited her so much that her red silk panties were moist. She sat down on the edge of her bed to change them, but masturbated before she pulled the clean underwear on. While she pleasured herself, she closed her eyes, remembering the intense feelings of bliss she'd had when he was inside of her, even moaning his name when she climaxed.

Erin glanced into the mirror before she left her apartment, pleased with her appearance. She was very stylish in her navy suit, the epitome of the impeccable business woman. She unbuttoned the top button of her beige blouse, exposing a hint of cleavage, which betrayed that she was less professional than she appeared. Picking up her matching Gucci handbag, she locked her apartment and left for the office.

xxxxx

Penelope tied her hair back with a blue bow from the selection of ribbons that was in her birthday basket. It matched the dark blue skirt she was wearing. She wore a pale blue top that emphasized her bust line. She put on her pair of dangling star earrings, and slipped several rings on her fingers, including her mood ring, which had now become a jewelry staple. As a finishing touch, she sprayed herself with her very expensive Mystic Night perfume. Worth every cent I paid for it, she thought, smiling to herself.

"You smell good enough to eat," Morgan told her, when he hugged her last night. They were standing in the parking lot of Valentino's Restaurant. Since they lived in different directions, they had come in their own cars. When they left the eatery, he walked her to hers.

"Penelope, thank you for tonight." He grinned when he told her, "I haven't had dinner with anyone but Rossi in weeks." His tone softened, and he pulled her close to him. "I had forgotten what it was like to look across the table at a beautiful woman." Her heart was pounding so hard, she thought it was going to jump out of her chest. She felt his lips brush her hair, and she thought he was going to kiss her, but, instead, he pulled back. "Drive carefully, Baby Girl. I'll see you tomorrow." He got into his car, but didn't start the engine. She wondered what he was thinking, as he watched her drive away.

She checked herself in the mirror one last time. "Not bad, for a chubby chick," she thought, happily, looking at her image.

It was a picturesque spring morning. A soft breeze carried the aroma of lilac, and there were birds chirping in the nearby cluster of trees. Garcia was humming to herself, as she walked out of her front door, down stone walkway to her car. It was going to be a spectacular day.

xxxxx

Morgan was awake ahead of his alarm, feeling rested for the first time in days. Even after he finished breakfast, he had forty minutes until he had to leave for work. He decided to use the extra time to begin his packing. With only three days until he left for Barbados, he wanted to determine what he may need to purchase for the trip. If necessary, he thought he would do some shopping after work tonight.

He was packing one suit and two dress shirts, in case he went some places that required proper dress. He put a white shirt in his bag, and was going to pack his Armani, when he recalled the Asian woman in the laundry telling him about the lipstick stain she wasn't able to get out. "We no get lipstick from white shirt. Maybe still wear shirt. No see spot where is," she had told him. He took the shirt out of the plastic packaging to see what she had been talking about. He checked the collar and the underside, but they were clean. He was baffled. What had she meant? And then, he saw the dark smears of crimson lipstick near the bottom of the shirt. How the hell?

Derek tried to recall the last time he'd worn the shirt. It was Director Gray's reception. He had been wearing the shirt the night before he woke up sick and confused in a hotel room in DC. That was the night he had been with Strauss. He was no expert in lipsticks, but Erin always wore dark red shades. And then it hit him. The only way that his shirt could be stained that low…Oh my God!

He was cheerful when he woke up this morning. Being with Garcia last night had a positive effect on him. They had laughed like high school kids, and they'd talked seriously. She understood him in a way no other woman ever had. "I'm glad you're getting away for awhile, Cupcake," she told him when they discussed his trip. "I can hear it in your voice when you're stressed, and the job has been getting to you way more than it should lately. I've been concerned that you were going to burn out." She paused, afraid that she had said too much. She had a way of blurting things out sometimes that she hadn't meant to say, but Derek wasn't angry at her observations. He was amazed at how well she'd profiled him.

The realization that he had been victimized, not just once, but twice by Strauss changed his lighthearted mood to outrage. How could he have been so God damned dumb? He hadn't wanted to believe what was right before his eyes. He'd made excuses for Strauss, doubted his instincts. He ignored advice from Rossi, a man whom he trusted as his closest friend. He had let her play him, and he felt like a fool.

Furious, he tossed the shirt aside, having lost any motivation to pack. He grabbed his keys, and left for the office to have a conversation with Section Chief Erin Strauss.


	15. Chapter 15

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 15

Morgan gave a long blast of his horn to the driver who cut him off as he was exiting I-95. "Asshole," he grumbled. He had no patience for idiots this morning.

The parking garage at Quantico was less than a third full, as the employees had just started to trickle in. Derek pulled his SUV into his slot and looked around. J.J.'s mini-van and Rossi's Pathfinder were the only vehicles belonging to his team members that were in place. The space reserved for Erin Strauss was still empty. He took his briefcase from the front seat and went to the elevator.

The majority of people already on his floor were congregated by the coffeemakers, talking, and getting their first caffeine fix of the morning. He nodded as he passed Rossi, who was grinning broadly, while he chatted with a pretty new agent. When he got to his office, he left a voice message for Strauss, even before he took his own. "Erin, it's Derek Morgan. I need to see you in my office as soon as you get in." He was cool, and managed to keep the anger out of his voice. He took a deep breath to calm his agitation, and went out to get a cup of coffee.

Rossi was still making time with the rookie agent, who couldn't have been more than twenty-five or six. She was totally entranced by what he was saying. Dave started to make a wise crack to Morgan about him being so early to work, and then thought better of it. Derek's demeanor told him something was wrong. Instead, he asked him, seriously, "Everything okay?"

"Fine," Morgan replied, briskly, brushing quickly past everyone to return to his office with his drink.

Like clockwork, Erin Strauss was in her office every morning at five minutes to eight. Derek checked his watch and got the file he had been working on out of the drawer. He made an attempt to pick up where he had left off, but couldn't concentrate. Instead, he made a couple of phone calls, frequently checking the time as he talked. At 7:56, Strauss rang his phone.

"I'm in my office. Please, come down."

When did she drop her imperious attitude? She sounds as flirty as a fucking sixteen year old, he thought with annoyance. "Ma'am, I would appreciate it if you would come to MY office." He was firm, but kept the anger out of his voice.

"Of course, Derek," she replied, sweetly. A minute later there was a knock at his door. Without waiting for a response, Erin entered. She locked the door behind her and came across the room to the desk to where he was sitting. Without hesitation, she stood behind him and slipped her arms around his neck. "I'm glad to see you." She said in his ear. She slid her hand into his shirt and down his chest.

Strauss, generally the embodiment of professionalism, stunned him with her aggression, and it fed his anger. Morgan grabbed her arm and pulled it out of his shirt. "Sit down," he told her, coldly.

"Derek?" She sounded surprised.

"Sit...the fuck...down."

"Watch it, Agent," she warned. Her autocratic tone of voice had returned.

"Sit down, Erin." He was deadly quiet, like the calm before a storm. Morgan got up and slowly walked toward her. He placed his hands on the arms of her chair, and spoke to her face to face.

"What you did to me could get you ten years in prison. Fortunately," he paused, "for you, you used a drug that didn't leave any trace. Fortunately," he paused again, "for you, I don't have proof. If I had proof, I would arrest you in a heartbeat." She tried to stand up, but she was blocked by his body.

"Sit still, Erin." He continued. "Fortunately, for me, my business is investigation. I'm betting that you haven't led as pristine a life as you might want to pretend. I'm betting that if I start looking into your life, I'll find some things that you may not want out in the open. Maybe not something I can send you to prison for, but I'll just bet there's a hoard of skeletons rattling around in your closet. You want to be director of the FBI someday, don't you?" He shook his head. "Not on my watch, Sweetheart. Whatever dirty little secrets you have hidden, I'm going to find them. I'm going to reveal them. I'm going to make it my mission to be sure that you never have that position. Do you understand me?"

"How dare you threaten me? Do you know the damage I can do to you, Agent Morgan?" She told him, struggling to control the situation.

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing, you can use against me. Can you say the same?" Morgan stood up and pulled back from her. He stood, arms folded, leaned against his desk, studying her. She was nervous. Although it was essentially a bluff, he knew from her reaction that he was right. Her life would not stand up to scrutiny.

"All right, Er-in," he said, over annunciating her name for emphasis. "I'll make a deal with you. Don't fuck with me. If you don't fuck with me, I won't fuck with you. You keep your position as Section Chief, and I won't do anything to discredit you. Try moving up in the Bureau, and every despicable thing you've ever done will be out in the open. Ditto, if you try to sabotage my career. Oh, and, if you ever fuck with some other poor schmuck the way you did me," he said, venomously, "if I have to rent a fucking billboard out on the Beltway, I will expose you. Are we clear?"

"You're crazy. I never did anything to you." She said, defensively. "Are you talking about when you came to my cottage and raped me?"

"Don't even try it, Erin." He warned. Morgan went to his office door and unlocked it. He held it open for her. "Have a nice day, Ma'am." He said, politely.

Strauss summoned her dignity and stood up, very tall and straight. She flashed him a look of pure hatred, set her jaw and walked out of his office. "You, too, Agent."

xxxxx

Derek sat down at his desk and drank the last of his coffee. It was almost cold. He looked at the file before him, and knew he wasn't going to be able to concentrate. His hands shook slightly when he closed it and put it away.

He had expected to feel better after he confronted Strauss, but he didn't. Strangely, he found himself fighting the impulse to cry.

He picked up his phone and rang Rossi's office. "Dave, I need a favor."

xxxxx

At ten o'clock, when the team assembled around the table for the morning briefing, Derek was noticeably absent.

"Where's Morgan?" Hotch asked, ready to begin reviewing the new cases.

"He left a little while ago. Some kind of emergency," Rossi lied. "He'll be in tomorrow."

Hotch gave a look of annoyance and began the discussion of a case in South Carolina. J.J. clicked through crime scene photos up on the screen and they proceeded with their work as usual, all except for Penelope. As she did research for them on her laptop, she had a gnawing in the pit of her stomach. She knew that something must be terribly wrong with Derek.

xxxxx

Morgan didn't go right home after he left Headquarters. Instead, he bought another cup of coffee, and drove out to the park. He pulled into a quiet, shaded area, and sat in his SUV, watching the boats out on the Potomac.

He was deeply troubled by his confrontation with Strauss. Although she was as much a predator as many of the criminals he investigated, it went against his nature to be so harsh with a woman. Only a month ago, she was someone he respected as his superior. For awhile, he had even begun to like her. When he went out to her house that day, it was to repay the kindness he felt that she had shown him. He was blindsided by what happened. She'd made him feel as dirty and ashamed as he felt when he was abused by Carl Buford.

Several small sailboats with multicolored sails were on the river, and the rowing team from Old Dominion University was practicing. An osprey was fishing, and taking food back to the nest for her young, while her mate watched from the tree top, but Morgan's vision of the scene was obscured by tears he couldn't hold back any longer.


	16. Chapter 16

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 16

David Rossi put some files in his attaché case and left his office for the day. When he walked past Erin Strauss' office, he tapped on her door. "Can I come in?" He asked, sticking his head inside.

"What is it, David?" She sounded irritated.

"I want to talk." He replied, cheerfully. He came in and sat down across from her. She looked distracted and miserable, hardly the Ice Queen he was used to seeing. "Bad day?"

"David, I don't have time. Whatever you want, get to the point."

"I understand you're single again."

"Why on earth would you care about my marital status? Do you want to gloat or something? I don't appreciate you intruding into my…"

"Erin," he interrupted. "I simply don't want to ask another man's wife out for dinner."

"What kind of a joke is this?" Every conversation she'd had with Rossi in the past twenty years had been adversarial. Whatever he was up to, she wasn't buying it. "Get to your point," she repeated.

"I want to bury the hatchet, Erin. If you don't have anything to do, I'd like you to go out with me this evening." He flashed his most charming smile, and asked with all the sincerity he could muster. "How about it? For old time's sake?"

"Aren't I a little out of your age range? I thought you preferred the company of your twenty something groupies?"

"In the words of Browning, 'see beauty in every person, place or thing, and all will be well in your world.'" He quoted, eloquently.

"Bullshit, David."

Strauss wasn't looking forward to going home. Since her divorce, she'd felt very much alone. Her ex-husband had custody of their children, and she only saw them on alternate weekends, and, for someone who knew all of the "right" people in Washington, there wasn't one she could call "a friend." It might be nice to have a companion, especially tonight. She was still smarting from Morgan's rebuke. Okay, she'd do it. Maybe he wouldn't be the pompous ass he usually was.

"All right, David." She relented. "Where do you want to go?"

xxxxx

It was unlike Morgan to just leave work the way he did, and it had Penelope nearly frantic. She tried calling his cell and his house phone throughout the day, but only got his voice mail. Was he sick? Maybe there was an emergency with his mother, or one of his sisters, but then, why didn't he answer his phone or return her calls. Perhaps he'd been in an accident? She was so unnerved that she decided to stop by his house on her way home.

When she left Headquarters, the sky had turned a foreboding grey and thunder was rumbling in the distance. She hoped the storm would hold off until she got to Morgan's. She knew he lived in Stafford, but had never been there before. She didn't relish the idea of trying to find his house in the rain. The Mapquest directions she'd printed out showed he lived about a mile and a half off of I-95. Good, she thought, that doesn't look too hard to find, but as she was exiting the Interstate, it began to rain heavily.

xxxxx

After his confrontation with Strauss, Morgan was more anxious than ever to get away. He spent the afternoon shopping for his vacation, and he finished packing. His expensive Armani shirt went into the trash, even if he could still wear it. He didn't want a reminder of what happened. When he was done packing, he went down to the basement to work out, which was always a stress reliever for him. After he slammed the hell out of his punching bag, he went upstairs and took a long shower. He planned on going to O'Reilly's for some dinner, but as he was drying off, the electricity blinked and he realized a nasty storm was brewing. He clicked on ESPN and stretched out on the bed to check the ball scores and wait out the storm. Sometime after he heard that the Red Sox won, but before the heard that the Celtics lost, he fell asleep.

xxxxx

It was hard to read the street signs in the downpour, and Penelope made a wrong turn. Oh, how she wished her vintage car had GPS! She ran into a convenience store to ask for directions, and had to double back nearly a mile to find Morgan's street. As she drove, she was starting to have second thoughts about just showing up on his doorstep. Maybe he won't even be home. Or, suppose he felt like she was prying into his business and got angry. Worse yet, what if he has a woman at his house with him.

She finally found the street, and drove along slowly, trying to make out the numbers on the houses. The rain made it difficult, but she spotted Derek's SUV in a driveway, and she pulled in along side of him. She reached on the backseat for her umbrella but realized she had left it in her office. Damn! She waited a few minutes for a break in the rain. All right, Pen, she said to herself, the most he can do is to tell you to get the hell off his stoop. Even if he did, at least she would know he was okay.

Once the rain slowed, she made a dash for Morgan's front door and rang the doorbell. Three times she rang his bell and waited, but there was no response. Why isn't he answering? His car is here and there are lights on. He has to be home. The storm picked back up, but she was too concerned about Morgan to notice. Okay, maybe his bell doesn't work. She banged on the door as hard as she could. "Derek?" Still no answer. "DEREK?" She was about to knock again when the door opened.

"Penelope?" He was shocked to see her. "Baby, what are you doing here?" She was drenched. The makeup she'd applied so carefully this morning was running down her cheeks in streams, and her long hair was drooping. "Come in, Baby Girl. You're going to catch cold."

"Oh, Derek, you're okay. I was so worried." She had tears in her eyes, as he led her inside.

"Of course, I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" He looked at her, concerned. "Pen, stay here. I'm going to get you a towel." He went to the nearby powder room and quickly returned with two towels. He wrapped one around her and began drying her hair with the other. When she'd stopped dripping, he directed her to the powder room. "Baby, go in and finish getting dry. I'll find some clothes you can change into."

Now that she could see that he was fine, she felt silly. What must he think of her for getting so upset? She drove twenty miles out of her way to make a fool of herself.

She took off her wet clothes and dried off. He handed a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt in to her. "Do you need anything else?"

"No," she replied, miserably. She looked at her image in the mirror that hung the back of the bathroom door. The hair she'd carefully styled this morning was hanging limply, and she was devoid of any makeup. She looked frumpy in his clothes, and the pants made her ass look huge. Great, one heck of a fashion statement you're making, Pen. She hated the idea of Derek seeing her look so awful. Reluctantly, she came out with her wet clothes in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Derek. If you can give me a plastic bag for my clothes, I'll leave. I'll bring your clothes into work tomorrow."

"Penelope, talk to me. What brought you all of the way down here? What's wrong?"

As foolish as she felt, she sighed and told him. "You left work this morning, and Rossi said it was an emergency. And, you've never done anything like that before. I mean, Derek, you've never even taken a day off, and I was worried. So, I tried calling you. In fact, I called all day but you didn't answer, or even return my calls, and you've never done that before, either. Then, I thought something must be really wrong, so I was just going to drive down on my way home to make sure you were okay. And then, it started raining, and I got lost. And when I got here, you didn't answer the door, and I was afraid you were hurt or sick or something. I even imagined that maybe someone you sent to prison got out and came and shot you, or something." She realized she was rambling. Oh God, she wished a hole would open in the floor and swallow her up. She teared up again. "I am so sorry I bothered you. I know it was forward of me to show up like this."

He was touched by her concern for him. He stepped closer to her, and took her in his arms. "It's all right, Penelope." He gave her a long hug, then gestured toward the sofa. "Sit down, Baby. We need to talk."


	17. Chapter 17

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 17

Morgan sat on the sofa beside Penelope, turned to face her. He held her hands in his, just as he had the day in her office when he apologized for missing her birthday party. He was looking down, lightly fingering her mood ring with his thumb, thinking about what he was going to say. She was so afraid of what he was going to tell her that her ring was inky black. Penelope wondered if he knew what it meant.

After a moment, he looked up and smiled. "You are very sweet to worry so much about me." He looked down at her hands again, took a breath, and told her. "Baby, some things have been going on with me lately, and the pressure got to me today. I had to get away for awhile."

"I didn't mean to get into your business, honestly. It's just that I'm supposed to be able to contact the team any time in case they need you, and when I couldn't reach you…Well, you've never disappeared like that, and I was afraid..." She realized that she was babbling again when he touched his fingers to her lips to silence her.

"Rossi knew how to find me if there was an emergency." He said, and looked down again.

Derek Morgan was not a man who was open about his feelings. From the time his father was murdered, he tried to be strong, as just like his dad was. He faltered at first, acting out and getting into trouble during the time he was being molested, but for the last twenty years he had been the bulwark everyone else depended on. He relished the role, but it caused him to conceal his vulnerabilities, which he saw as personal failures. Over the past couple of years, Rossi had become his closest friend, part patriarch, part drinking buddy. An astute profiler, Dave instinctively understood him, which made it easy for Morgan to relate to him. And there was Penelope, his heart. He was denigrated by what happened with Erin Strauss, he couldn't confide how deeply Strauss hurt him, but he was going to be as open as he could, and he continued.

"The past year has been hard for me, Baby. When George Foyet came close to killing me, it made me doubt myself. We had that terrible case in Canada, there was what happened with Hotch…and then, we've had so many cases involving children recently. When it's the kids …" He shook his head. "Pen, it seemed overwhelming. I even thought of leaving the BAU, and doing something different. I went so far as to schedule an interview with the Director of Counterterrorism. I thought, maybe, I would try my hand at tracking terrorists for awhile." Morgan still kept his eyes down as he spoke, and held her hands.

"You're leaving?" She questioned, quietly, with a knot in her stomach.

"No, I changed my mind after that Alabama case a couple of weeks ago. When I found that kid alive…Pen, as hard as some of these cases are…when that little girl wrapped her arms around my neck…" He paused, realizing that he was again close to tears. "God damn, what's wrong with me today?" He thought, frustrated with himself for becoming so emotional. Ashamed to let Penelope see him break down, he continued when he regained control. "I knew when I saved Samantha that I couldn't leave." He shrugged. "Sometimes you win one, you know."

Penelope didn't want to interrupt him, but she squeezed his hand to let him know she understood.

"I've done this job for more than seven years. Shit, I've been in law enforcement for more than fifteen, and Pen, it has always been a hard job. That's just how it is. You and Rossi have both suggested that I was burning out, and I started to wonder if you were right. But then, I figured out what changed, why the job began affecting me more." He finally met her eyes. "Penelope, it was because I lost you."

Oh God, she wanted to exclaim. "Lost me? What do you mean 'you lost me?' Don't you know you could never lose me? I love you, Derek." Instead, she just asked, as calmly as she could. "Why did you feel you'd lost me?"

"Lynch." He admitted. "Suddenly, you and he got close, and damn, you seemed like the perfect couple. You two were always smiling and giggling. I was so jealous. Since you were happy together, I tried not to interfere. I backed off as much as I could…Do you remember that night in New York City, when you directed me into Central Park with the bomb?"

"Yes."

"It was like you were with me. Hearing your voice gave me confidence. As long as I could hear you, I knew it would be okay. I realized that with all the hard cases, when I would call in and you'd joke with me…" He grinned. "Or, you'd flirt with me. No matter how bad the case was, you always made it easier. And before Kevin, we used to talk. Babe, you have a simple wisdom, an insight, that has always helped me sort out my thoughts."

She didn't know what to say, but she reached up and brushed his cheek with her hand. He took her hand and kissed it, and then he continued. "I realized how much I needed you, Baby."

Penelope's pulse quickened. He needs me? Me? Could I really be that important to him? She noticed her ring changing color.

He leaned back to see her reaction when he asked." Pen, did you ever wonder why I never tried to date you? Why I never hit on you?"

No, no, no…she thought, wildly. Oh crap! He's going to ruin it. What is he going to say? She again became acutely conscious of how awful she looked…her stringy hair, not a lick of makeup, and the clothes she had on made her look like a blimp. God, she dreaded his answer, but she said it. "Because I'm fat?"

"What?" He frowned, and looked at her, oddly. "No." He said, incredulously.

Morgan put his arm around her and drew her close to him. "Baby Girl, you know how it is in relationships. They can get complicated." He laughed when he told her "hey, after a few months of romance, you'd get sick of my BS. Then you'd dump my ass." But he was serious again when he said, "I'd rather have you as my best friend than an ex-girlfriend. I didn't want anything to ruin us." It wasn't the complete truth, but it was as much as he would allow himself to say.

So, what is he telling me? Penelope's thoughts were racing. Does he mean we can't have a romance? Or, is he saying that he has changed his mind? She wasn't sure, but at that moment, the only thing that really mattered was the ecstasy she felt being in his arms. She laid her head against his shoulder, and wished the time would last forever.

Morgan held her for a long time, savoring the experience of having the woman he cherished close to him. There were secrets troubling his soul that he couldn't talk to her about. Maybe, one day he could share all of himself with her. For now, he was aware of the one absolute in his life. When she was with him, he felt invincible.

xxxxx

It was still raining when Rossi pulled into the restaurant parking lot. A perfect gentleman, he got his umbrella out of the back, came around to the passenger side of his Pathfinder, and opened the door for Erin. He held the umbrella while the two of them sprinted into Bella Luna. "Table for two," Dave said to the hostess. "Pretty good run for a woman in four inch heels," he joked with Strauss, as he closed up his umbrella.

"Uh-huh," she replied, coldly, still skeptical of his motives for asking her out.

The hostess led them to cozy table near a realistic looking artificial fireplace. She lit the candle and took their drink order, promising a waitress in a few minutes. Rossi had chosen the restaurant, and Erin wondered why he would select one with such obvious romantic ambience. "So, what is this about, David?"

"I told you. I want to make peace. It's ridiculous that we have been squabbling for over twenty years."

"We haven't been squabbling. I make it a point to speak to you as infrequently as possible." She took a drink of the White Russian the waitress had brought her. "And if you hadn't gone over my head to get your job back, we would never have had to talk again at all."

"Please don't be bitter, Erin. I am sorry about the way things ended between us. I never meant to hurt you." Rossi wondered what had influenced her over the years. She was always an ambitious, controlling woman, but she was warm, and had a sense of humor, too. He didn't recognize this person.

"Don't flatter yourself by thinking that you hurt me. To 'hurt me'" she emphasized the words, "would imply that I care. Believe me, I don't."

When she finished her drink, Rossi motioned to the waitress to bring her another. He sat, nursing his beer, listening to her. Beautiful Erin Malone, what happened to you?


	18. Chapter 18

CONNECTIONS

Chapter 18

On Friday, his last work day before his vacation, Morgan found himself singing along with the radio on the drive into Headquarters. Even the heavy traffic and his lack of sleep, couldn't affect his mood.

It was late when he walked Penelope out to her car and they said "good-night." Earlier in the evening, he had offered to take her out to dinner again, but she looked disdainfully down at her outfit and made a face when he suggested it. Oops, he hadn't realized she was self-conscious about her appearance. Even in his tee shirt and sweatpants, she looked pretty to him. Instead, she offered to make dinner for them.

"Babe, I don't have much that you don't just nuke. I don't cook very often." He called to her, when she went into the kitchen to see what he had. From the odds and ends she found, she managed to make them a pretty good meal. They finished with a bottle of Cabernet that someone had given him for Christmas, which had long been forgotten on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Derek was still humming to himself when he parked his car and walked to the elevator. On the way to his office, he passed Erin Strauss. There was something "off" about her appearance, he noted. Strauss was always impeccably coiffed and dressed, but today she looked a little…unkempt? Interesting? She was wearing dark glasses. "Agent," she nodded, formally, as she passed him.

"Ma'am." He replied, still trying to assess what was amiss.

At the coffeemaker, Rossi was hanging out with the same rookie agent, but today, she would brush his arm with her hand when she laughed at his jokes. Morgan was amused at the progress he was making. "Yeah, go on, Old Dude," he thought, but would never have said to Dave.

He was mixing his coffee when Rossi paused from his flirtation. "Want to meet me at O'Reilly's tonight?"

"Sure," Derek replied, juggling the coffee, his briefcase, and a couple of cookies, as he headed down to his office.

The day went by quickly despite a heavy caseload. Hotch, in his typically humorless fashion, had questioned him when he went into the morning brief. "Did you take care of your emergency?"

"Yes," he said, sharply. He had never taken an unplanned day off before, and he wasn't about to make explanations for yesterday.

Several times during the meeting, Derek and Garcia glanced at each other and smiled, very slightly, not to betray to the others that they may be thinking of something more than the work at hand.

When he left his office for the day, Morgan was confident that his work was entirely up to date. He pulled out of the parking garage, delighted to be officially on vacation.

xxxxx

"I'm surprised that you wanted to have dinner with me tonight," Derek told his co-worker. "Shit, I thought you'd be hangin' with that cute rookie you've been trying to charm into bed."

"She's Saturday night." He grinned, and then turned serious. "Did you get your business taken care of yesterday?

When Morgan called to ask him to cover for him, Rossi knew there was more to it than the "something's come up" that he mumbled about, but he didn't embarrass him by asking for details. Also, he didn't tell Morgan that he saw Erin Strauss leave his office just before he called.

"Yeah, I did. Thank you." He spoke quietly, and didn't elaborate.

Rossi made a little small talk about the game that was playing on the overhead TV monitor before he told him. "I had dinner with Erin Strauss last night."

Morgan's eyes narrowed, suspiciously. "Oh?" For the moment, he felt betrayed.

"After five White Russians, she agreed to see a psychiatrist and to get some help."

"Did you talk to her about me?" Suddenly, he was angry, assuming the implications of what Rossi was saying. He didn't need "daddy" fighting his battles for him.

"No, absolutely not!" Rossi assured him, quickly. He explained. "Derek, what she did to you was out of character. She has always been driven, ambitious. Hell, she's a controlling bitch. But, for her to commit a criminal act? Uh-uh, the more I thought about it, I knew something had to be very wrong." He saw that Derek's anger abated as he listened.

"I got enough alcohol in her to get her to loosen up and talk to me. She's gone through a nasty divorce. She came home one day and caught her husband doggin' the nanny, some twenty-two year old over here on a French visa. In spite of his affair, he got custody of their kids. He used Erin's career aspirations against her, saying she was never home, didn't have time for them, et cetera. Maybe some truth there, but hey, she loves her children. She's not a complete monster. So now her ex is shacked up in their home with his little Mademoiselle, and she feels like she's lost everything. Anyhow, that was her 'stressor.'"

He watched Morgan's reaction. It was important to him that Morgan understood his motivation for seeing her. He went on. "I don't expect you to forgive what she did to you. It was outrageous. I am only explaining her to you. You're nice looking, Derek. You're younger than she is. In her distorted reality, I think she thought having you would make her feel better about herself."

Morgan didn't answer at first, digesting what Rossi had told him. Finally, "I'm glad you persuaded her to see someone," and then he smiled. "So that's why she looked so ragged this morning, eh? She was hung over."

"Oh yeah," Rossi nodded. "I'm sure she was." He leaned in to tell Morgan more truth about his encounter with Erin. "Look, I want you to know that I never mentioned you, or anything to do with you. I told her that I was worried about her. When she was drunk enough, she started to spill her guts about what happened with the divorce."

"How do you know she'll follow through on seeing a shrink?" Morgan asked.

"I told her outright. I said I thought she was psychologically unfit for her position with the Bureau right now. I told her gently, but I fucking told her. She knows I am going to check on her, and she knows that if she doesn't follow through, I'll have to make my concerns known to the hierarchy." He sat back in his chair, confident of what he was saying. "I have 'connections,' too."

Rossi was honest with Morgan, but he did leave a few details out of his story. He didn't mention that Erin was too drunk to drive, so he took her back to his house to spend the night. He didn't tell him, that when she talked about the things that had happened with her, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably, and how long he held her to comfort her. Morgan didn't hear about the kiss, or that they have a date next week.

Rossi knew better than to get involved with Erin again. He was just going to take her out to dinner on Tuesday…for old time's sake.

xxxxx

Morgan watched Rossi swirl his favorite peach brandy in the glass before taking a drink, a ritual he had seen him perform many times before. Dave leaned back in his seat, savoring the flavor as it went done. "Damn, that's good." He said, commenting on the drink. "Now, if I could light up a Havana Honey, the evening would be perfect."

"I presume you mean the cigar, not a hot Latino chick?"

"Of course," he replied, taking another drink, "but then, I wouldn't turn down either one."

Morgan shook his head in amusement. "Dave, you know those cigars are bad for you?"

"Unfortunately, most of the things I enjoy are bad for me. So, what time's your flight on Sunday?"

"Nine twenty-two."

"Tell me about your trip. Is this a singles thing, or what? Are you looking to meet someone, maybe get a little action?"

When Morgan booked the trip, he was mostly thinking of lying on the beach, doing some scuba diving, and just getting the hell away. It was a plus that Barbados has an active night life, and he wouldn't have minded meeting someone, but now that Penelope was single, he wasn't interested. "Nah, I don't think so."

"Geeze, that doesn't sound like much fun, taking a vacation alone. Why don't you invite someone to go along with you?"

Morgan laughed. "If you're hinting that you want to go to Barbados and lie on the beach with me, I gotta tell you. You're not my type."

"No, I was just thinking you should take someone. You know, I heard Garcia is a free woman. She broke up with that Lynch guy. Heard he took a position in Europe. Oh, and in case you never noticed, she's crazy about you." Rossi had never missed any of their little sidelong glances.

"Right," he said, sarcastically. "I'll just call her up on a day's notice and see if she wants to drop everything and go to Barbados." He shook his head. "That's crazy, Dave."

"Not so crazy. I'll bet she'd go. Derek, you're too planned, too organized. When was the last time you did something spontaneous?"

"This from the man who color codes his notes?"

"That's work. This is fun. Why don't you invite her?"

"Well, there wouldn't be a problem with the accommodations. I rented a beach cottage. But, what about the flight down? She may not even be able to get a seat on the same plane."

"Take a different flight."

"It would cost a bundle to change plans now, or even to get her on the same flight."

"You make a good living."

"Dave, even if I asked her, and she said 'yes,' and okay, say I got her on the flight down, our vacation requests have to be put in two weeks ahead. Shit, I'm leaving in thirty-six hours."

"Morgan, the girl could hack the U.S. Missile Defense System if she wanted to. Slipping her backdated vacation request into the system would be a piece of cake for her."

Morgan just kept shaking his head, amused at Rossi's ridiculous proposal.

xxxxx

It was Sunday night when David Rossi picked up the phone and called.

"Erin…Dave Rossi," he told her. "Look, I'm going to have to cancel Tuesday night."

He had been toying with the idea of calling her for the past couple of days, finally deciding it was the right thing to do. He'd thought about lying, and telling her that something came up. No, he needed to be upfront about it, and so he said: "I don't think it is a good idea. You're vulnerable right now. I don't want to cause any complications." She didn't say anything and he continued. "Did you make your appointment yet?"

He was glad to hear that she had her first session tomorrow night. He was afraid it would take her several weeks to get an appointment, so he recommended Dr. Phillip Addison. He and Phil played golf together once in awhile, and had been his advisor on several cases. He trusted the man's judgment and thought he would be good with Strauss. He'd put in a call to Phil on Friday asking him to bump her to the front of the list. Dave would owe him a favor.

"Erin, good luck." He told her, sincerely. He would be watching.

xxxxx

Derek and Penelope sat on lounge chairs, watching the sunset on Crane Beach. The soft breeze that whispered through nearby palm trees, was the only sound on the beach except for the rhythm of the breaking waves. Wordlessly, he reached over and took her hand.

It had been incredibly hectic getting here. When he showed up at her condo late on Friday night, asking her to go on vacation with him, she thought he'd gone insane. "Why, I couldn't possibly be ready," she'd told him.

"C'mon, Pen." He was as excited as a child on Christmas morning. "You know you want to." It had been a long time since she'd seen the playful side of Morgan, and she was thrilled to see it again. He had become so dark and serious in recent months.

Penelope spent Saturday shopping, especially for a bathing suit. She didn't want one that would make her look enormous. She finally found a suit that emphasized her cleavage, which she hoped he would focus on, rather than how her butt looked as big as a barn.

After they got settled into the cottage, they quickly changed into their swim suits, and ran out to the water, playing in the surf like a pair of kids. She was dazzled by how good Derek looked in his bathing suit. "How the heck does he find that much time to work out?" She thought, almost annoyed by his well-defined abs. It made her self-conscious, and she tried to keep her belly sucked in, until he smacked her on the ass.

"Lookin' good, Baby!"

She was ecstatic. "Oh, okay, guess I picked the right one." She thought, happily.

When dusk approached, they ordered drinks, and sat by the water watching the reflection of the setting sun. It created gold and russet sparkles that danced on the gently rolling surf. They were still holding hands when it grew dark, and a billion stars began to decorate the sky.

Although he hated to break the spell of the evening, neither of them had eaten since early in the morning, and he knew she had to be hungry. "Want to go get some dinner, Babe?" He asked.

"Sure."

They were still holding hands as they walked up the beach to their cottage. Just before they reached the door, Derek stopped, drew her close to him, and kissed her. It wasn't the brotherly kind of peck he had given her a few times before, or the Merry Christmas kiss that he gave all the women at the office party. This was a slow, deep, passionate kiss that sent a surge of electricity through her whole body. Wow! She never felt like this when Kevin kissed her. She was breathless when she asked him, "are you sure you're hungry right now?"

Derek only laughed and kissed her again. His kiss was as sweet as she'd always dreamed it would be.

~THE END~


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